A key committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on December 10 approved a bill to renew for three years the preferential trade program granted to Africa, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), paving the way for the revival of a mechanism seen as critical to hundreds of thousands of jobs across the continent.
The House Committee on Ways and Means adopted the bill by a vote of 37 to 3, according to a statement, describing AGOA as “the cornerstone of economic relations between the United States and Sub-Saharan African countries”. The legislation must now be considered by the full House, though no timetable has yet been set, Reuters reported.
Enacted in 2000, AGOA allows eligible African countries to export a wide range of products to the United States duty-free. The program expired in September, triggering concern among African governments and businesses that rely on preferential access to the U.S. market.
The committee’s approval comes amid signals in recent days that the U.S. administration was weighing more restrictive options. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the Trump administration was open to a one-year extension.
“A prolonged lapse in AGOA would create a void that malign actors like China and Russia will seek to fill,” the committee warned in its statement.
Renewing the program is viewed as strategic both for African exporters — particularly in textiles, automotive manufacturing and agribusiness — and for maintaining U.S. economic influence in Africa at a time of intensifying competition from Beijing and Moscow.
It remains unclear when, or if, the House of Representatives will place the bill on its agenda, and whether lawmakers will ultimately endorse a three-year extension without significant changes. M&B with Reuters