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1 1 (May 3, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedeg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Overview What is AGOA? AGOA (P.L. 106-200, as amended), a cornerstoneofU.S. trade policy toward sub-Saharan Africa since 2000, is a nonreciprocal U.S. trade preference programthat provides duty-free accessto the U.S. market for most exports fromeligible sub-Saharan African countries. In addition to preferential market access, the act also requires an annualforum, known as the AGOA forum, held between U.S. and AGOA country officials to discuss trade-related is sues. Additionally, AGOA provides direction to select U.S. government agencies regarding their trade and investmentsupport activities in the region. Which countries are eligible? AGOA lists 49 sub-Saharan African countries that are potential candidates for program benefits. AGOA eligibility criteria address is sues such as trade and investment policy, governance, worker rights, and human rights, among other is sues, 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 39 AGOA-eligible countries. In the mostrecent eligibility determination, President Trump reinstated AGOA benefits for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), effective January 1, 2021. The Trump Administration also initiated a review of South Africa's eligibility under the Generalized Systemof Preferences (GSP) due to concerns over its protection of intellectual property rights, which has potential implications for South Africa's AGOA eligibility as AGOA builds on GSP and requires that beneficiary countries satisfy bothprograms' eligibility criteria (see Relation to GSP below). Ten sub-Saharan African countries remain ineligible for the program's preference benefits in 2021. They include (with noted eligibility violations): Burundi (political violence), Cameroon (human rights), Equatorial Guinea (income graduation), Eritrea (human rights), Mauritania (worker rights), Seychelles (income graduation), Somalia (never eligible), South Sudan (political violence), Sudan (never eligible), and Zimbabwe (never eligible). In addition, Rwanda's AGOA benefits for apparelexports havebeen suspended since July 31, 2018, following an out-of-cycle eligibility determination in response to increased tariff barriers on used clothing imports fromthe United States. What is the authorization status? AGOA was first established by Congress in 2000 and has been amended several times. The Trade Preferences Extension Actof 2015, P.L. 114-27, extended AGOA's authorization for ten years to September2025. The African Growth and Opportunity Act and MillenniumChallenge Act Modernization Act of2018, P.L. 115-167, required the Administration to provide informationon AGOA through an official AGOA website, promote AGOA utilization, Updated May 3, 2021 product diversification, andregional cooperation, and educate African entrepreneurs. What is the goal? Through AGOA, the U.S. Congress seeks to increase U.S. trade and investment with theregion, promote sustainable economic growth through trade, and encourage the rule oflaw and market-oriented reforms. Supporting views. Supporters of AGOA argue that the programaffords 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 fromU.S. producers that may face increased import competitionfromAGOA countries. Such concerns are generally limited due to the low volume of U.S. imports under AGOA, but import competing U.S. producers havelobbiedto keep certain products, particularly sugar, outof the program. U.S. Imports under AGOA Total U.S. AGOA imports were $4.1 billion in 2020, down 50% from $8.4 billion in 2019, due mostly to a decline in oil imports. Imports remain concentrated in few countries and industries, but diversification has grown. Energy product imports (crude oil) declined by 85% in 2020 to $695 million, and accounted for only 17% of AGOA imports. This represents a significant shift, as crude oilhas historically accountedforthe vast majority of AGOA imports (e.g., $48 billion at their 2011 peak). Nigeria was the top supplier ($461 million) in 2020. AGOA non-energy imports declinedby 9% in 2020 to $3.4 billion, but have tripled since the programbegan in 2001. Top non-energy import categories include textiles and apparel ($1.2 billion), transportation equipment ($652 million), ag products ($626 million), minerals and metals ($332 million), and chemicals ($329 million). South Africa is the top supplier of AGOA non-energy imports (Figure 1), but its dominance has declined. Decreasing auto imports fromSouth Africa and increasing apparelimports fromother top countries are the main trends underlying this shift. tps ://crs reps

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