About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (May 8, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/goveavr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 1r Cogrsioa Reeac Sevc African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Overview What is AGOA? AGOA, a cornerstone of U.S. trade policy toward sub-Saharan Africa since 2000, is a nonreciprocal U.S. trade preference program that provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for most exports from eligible sub-Saharan African countries. In addition to preferential market access, the Act also requires an annual forum, known as the AGOA Forum, held between U.S. and AGOA country officials to discuss trade-related issues. Additionally, AGOA provides direction to select U.S. government agencies regarding their trade and investment support activities in the region. Which countries are eligible? AGOA lists 49 sub-Saharan African countries that are potential candidates for AGOA benefits. AGOA eligibility criteria address issues such as trade and investment policy, governance, worker rights, and human rights, among other issues, which countries must satisfy to be beneficiaries of the AGOA preferences. The President annually reviews and determines each country's AGOA eligibility. There are currently 40 AGOA-eligible countries. The Trump Administration reinstated benefits for The Gambia and Swaziland on December 22, 2017. The Administration also recently concluded an out-of-cycle eligibility review for several countries in the East African Community (EAC) regarding increased tariff barriers on used clothing imports from the United States. Tanzania and Uganda took steps to remove the new barriers, as Kenya had done earlier, and ultimately maintained their AGOA eligibility. Rwanda, however, continues to maintain the import restrictions. On March 29, the Administration sent Congress the requisite 60-day notification of its intent to suspend Rwanda's AGOA benefits on apparel exports. What is the authorization status? AGOA was first established by Congress in 2000 and has been amended several times. The Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, P.L. 114-27, extended AGOA's authorization for ten years to September 2025. What is the goal? Through AGOA, the U.S. Congress seeks to increase U.S. trade and investment with the region, promote sustainable economic growth through trade, and encourage the rule of law and market-oriented reforms. Is there pending legislation? Congress recently passed the AGOA and Millennium Challenge Act Modernization Act, P.L. 115-167. The Act, which became law on April 23, requires the Administration to increase transparency, including through an official AGOA website with information on, among other things, the outcomes of the annual AGOA Forum. It also directs the Administration to promote AGOA utilization, product diversification, and regional cooperation, and to educate African entrepreneurs on quality standards and production strategies. Updated May 8, 2018 Supporting Views-Supporters of AGOA argue that the program affords African producers an important competitive advantage in the U.S. market, thereby enabling exports, encouraging investment in the region, boosting private sector activity and economic growth, and ultimately generating demand for U.S. goods and services as the region's economies develop. Opposing Views-Opposition is mostly from U.S. producers that may face increased import competition from AGOA countries. Such concerns are generally limited due to the low volume of U.S. imports under AGOA, but import competing U.S. producers have lobbied to keep certain products, particularly sugar, out of the program. U.S. Imports Under AGOA U.S. non-energy imports under AGOA have grown from $1.3 billion in 2001 to $4.3 billion in 2017, but they remain concentrated in select countries and industries. 0 0 Total U.S. AGOA imports were $13.8 billion in 2017. Crude oil accounted for $9.2 billion of U.S. AGOA imports (70%) in 2017. Crude import values have increased over the past two years but remain more than $40 billion below their peak in 2011, due to lower prices and increased U.S. production. Nigeria, Angola, Chad, and Ghana are the major AGOA oil exporters. Non-energy imports (excluding crude and refined petroleum products) were $4.3 billion (Figure 1), with much of this coming from South Africa ($2.9 billion, with $1.2 billion in South African autos alone). Other top products were apparel and metals. Aside from South Africa and oil producers, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, and Madagascar are top users of the preference program, exporting mostly apparel products. Together with South Africa these countries accounted for 90% of U.S. non-energy AGOA imports in 2017. Figure 1. U.S. Non-Energy AGOA Imports by Country ($ in millions, 2017) Al Other 340 Madagascar 153 Mauritius 158 Lesotho 1 289 Kenya 408 South Af 2,932 0 2,000 4,000 Source: Analysis by CRS. Data from USITC. Notes: Non-energy refers to all goods except HTS Chapter 27. ittps://crsreports~congress.gov

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most