AGOA, Haiti HELP Restored With House Vote to End Partial Shutdown
The House voted 217-214 to pass consolidated spending bills on Feb. 3, which will end the partial shutdown that affected DHS, the Treasury Department, the State Department, and a number of other departments. President Donald Trump signed the bill package into law later in the afternoon.
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It also will restore the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Haitian trade preference program known as Haiti HELP (Haiti Economic Lift Program Extension Act), through Dec. 31. Goods that previously were eligible for AGOA or HELP that entered during the lapse will be eligible for a refund. Requests for liquidation or reliquidation would have to be filed within 180 days of Feb. 3, and CBP would have to pay within 90 days. No interest would be offered on the tariff refunds.
Overall, AGOA beneficiary exports to the U.S. in 2024 were $29.4 billion, with minerals and chemicals at $10.2 billion; metals, machinery, and transportation equipment at $4.6 billion; agriculture and food at $2.7 billion; and apparel at $1.2 billion.
The vote funds most of the government through Sept. 30, but the DHS spending bill continues funding for the agency at current levels through Feb. 13, while Democrats and Republicans negotiate over changes to how ICE and CBP are operating in rounding up immigrants for deportation.
The vote didn't fall along party lines -- 21 Republicans voted against the package, and 21 Democrats voted for it.