I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8249 

To strengthen the African Continental Free Trade Area, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2024 

Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK (for herself and Mr. JACKSON of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To strengthen the African Continental Free Trade Area, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘U.S.-Africa Strategic 

5 Trade and Investment Partnership Act of 2024’’ or the 

6 ‘‘ASTIP Act of 2024’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Africa Continental Free Trade Area 

2 (‘‘AfCFTA’’) will be the largest free trade area given 

3 Africa’s current population of 1,400,000,000 people, 

4 which is expected to grow to 2,500,000,000 by 2050 

5 and close to 40 percent of the global population by 

6 2100; 

7 (2) According to the United Nations Economic 

8 Commission for Africa, this single-market trade 

9 agreement will enable the African economy to reach 

10 the $29 trillion mark by 2050. 

11 (3) According to World Bank estimates, by 

12 2035, the total gross domestic product of African 

13 countries is projected to increase by 

14 $450,000,000,000 with the implementation of the 

15 AfCFTA and lift 30,000,000 people in Africa out of 

16 extreme poverty while boosting the wages of women 

17 and unskilled workers in particular in Africa. 

18 (4) According to the Brooking Institute Press 

19 Book ‘‘Unlocking Africa’s Business Potential’’, by 

20 2050, the combined consumer and business spending 

21 in Africa will exceed $16.12 trillion. 

22 (5) According to the World Bank, total 

23 intracontinental exports from African countries 

24 would increase by 81 percent under the AfCFTA. 

25 By economic sector, the AfCFTA is expected to be 


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1 especially important for expanding manufacturing, 

2 by increasing intracontinental manufacturing exports 

3 by 110 percent, which will diversify African econo4 mies and decrease the reliance of such economies 

5 upon extracting natural resources. 

6 (6) The AfCFTA also is projected to increase 

7 African manufacturing exports to the rest of the 

8 world by 46 percent. As a result of the AfCFTA cre9 ating new commercial opportunities and diversifying 

10 global supply chains, the rest of the world’s gross 

11 domestic product is expected to increase by 

12 $76,000,000,000. 

13 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

14 It is the policy of the United States to— 

15 (1) support the African Union’s Agenda 2063 

16 efforts to promote regional economic development, 

17 by stimulating greater trade and investment among 

18 African countries and between Africa and the United 

19 States; 

20 (2) partner with the African Union Commission 

21 and African Union entities such as the African Con22 tinental Free Trade Area Secretariat, African Re23 gional Economic Communities, and other intergov24 ernmental African organizations to bolster trade and 

25 investment at the regional, intracontinental, and 


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1 international levels, and facilitate market access and 

2 bilateral trade between the United States and Afri3 can countries; 

4 (3) increase opportunities for trade and invest5 ment between African countries and United States 

6 businesses, including those owned by members of the 

7 African diaspora, women, youth and underserved 

8 groups, thereby thereby contributing to potential 

9 United States economic growth; 

10 (4) promote the goals of the African Conti11 nental Free Trade Agreement signed on March 21, 

12 2018, to lower trade barriers between African coun13 tries, expand commercial opportunities for under14 served groups, women, and youth entrepreneurs, and 

15 attract greater foreign investment; 

16 (5) improve the efficacy, efficiency, and coordi17 nation of United States development aid and tech18 nical assistance, focusing on trade capacity building 

19 that is provided to African countries, regional com20 munities, and intergovernmental or multinational en21 tities including to the AfCFTA Secretariat; 

22 (6) support efforts to aid the implementation of 

23 the trade policy priorities of the AfCFTA, developed 

24 in coordination with continental, regional, and coun25 try partners in Africa; and 


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1 (7) facilitate market access and bilateral trade 

2 between the United States and African countries. 

3 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES ROADMAP TO PROMOTE THE AFRI4 CAN CONTINENTAL FREE TRADE AREA. 

5 (a) REPORT.— 

6 (1) UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTA7 TIVE.—The President shall, using existing inter8 agency trade policy development and coordination 

9 authority and mechanisms, direct the United States 

10 Trade Representative, in coordination with the Sec11 retary of State, the Administrator of the United 

12 States Agency for International Development, and 

13 the heads of other Federal agencies the President 

14 determines have trade or trade-related development 

15 mandates, to publish a report: 

16 (A) Describing efforts to promote the 

17 AfCFTA and to achieve the following goals: 

18 (i) Evaluate the industries in which 

19 the United States industries have a com20 parative advantage in Africa relative to 

21 other non-African countries, and strategy 

22 to promote trade and investment within 

23 those industries, especially in industries ex24 pected to grow with the implementation of 

25 the AfCFTA. 


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1 (ii) Evaluate the industries in which 

2 the United States investments can create 

3 direct and indirect jobs, and strategies to 

4 sustain and enhance them in both African 

5 counties and the United States, as the 

6 markets grow with the AfCFTA. 

7 (iii) Expand trade capacities and sup8 port trade-related infrastructure develop9 ment, and prioritize major intra-African 

10 trade corridors. 

11 (iv) Support the implementation and 

12 success of the AfCFTA and its goals as 

13 identified in consultation with African 

14 counterparts at the continental, regional, 

15 and country level, including by— 

16 (I) advancing African regional 

17 and intra-continental alignment of 

18 trade-related legal and administrative 

19 procedures; 

20 (II) strengthening the technical 

21 capacity of the AfCFTA Secretariat; 

22 and 

23 (III) promoting the development 

24 and expansion of African regional eco25 nomic communities as they pertain to 


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1 fostering trade, including through di2 rect consultation and partnership with 

3 the AfCFTA Secretariat. 

4 (v) Improve the efficacy of United 

5 States trade capacity building to support 

6 AfCFTA implementation, as appropriate, 

7 including by identifying duplication of or 

8 incompatibility between the assistance ac9 tivities of other major donors (such as non10 governmental organizations, other govern11 ments, and intergovernmental organiza12 tions) and the policies and projects in13 cluded in the strategy. 

14 (vi) Enable more effective and inclu15 sive participation of stakeholders, including 

16 those representing workers, environmental 

17 sustainability, African diaspora, women, 

18 youth, marginalized, or underrepresented 

19 groups, in the further negotiation of 

20 AfCFTA subsidiary agreements, protocols, 

21 or other legal texts, and the implementa22 tion of the AfCFTA generally. 

23 (B) Providing a description of the obliga24 tion and expenditure of all amounts made avail25 able to carry out the strategy during the preVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jun 01, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8249.IH H8249

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1 ceding 2 fiscal years, disaggregated by fiscal 

2 year, account, and activity. 

3 (C) Identifying successes and challenges 

4 relating to the implementation of the strategy. 

5 (D) Evaluating whether there has been any 

6 progress made regarding achieving the quali7 tative and quantitative goals and metrics in8 cluded in the initial report pursuant to sub9 section (b)(5). 

10 (E) Providing any updates and revisions 

11 made to the criteria described in subsection 

12 (b)(5) and included in the initial report. 

13 (F) Updating recommendations as de14 scribed in subsection (b)(6). 

15 (2) TIMEFRAME.—Not later than 2 years after 

16 the submission of the initial report required by sub17 section (b), and every 2 years thereafter for 8 years, 

18 the President shall submit the report to the relevant 

19 congressional committees. 

20 (3) PRIOR APPROVAL AND BIENNIAL UP21 DATES.—The report required by this subsection may 

22 only be developed through prior consultation with, 

23 and submitted with the approval of, the Trade Pol24 icy Staff Committee established pursuant to section 

25 242(a) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 


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1 U.S.C. 1872(a)). Such report shall also be updated 

2 biennially with such prior consultation and pursuant 

3 to such approval. 

4 (4) CONSULTATION.—In developing the report 

5 described in this subsection, the United States 

6 Trade Representative shall, as appropriate and prac7 ticable, consult with— 

8 (A) stakeholders in the United States and 

9 in Africa from the private sector, civil society, 

10 and African diaspora; 

11 (B) relevant African Union entities such as 

12 the AfCFTA Secretariat; 

13 (C) State, local, and Tribal governments; 

14 and 

15 (D) United States development agencies 

16 and entities not represented on the Trade Pol17 icy Staff Committee, including the Prosper Af18 rica Initiative Secretariat, the Millennium Chal19 lenge Corporation, and the United States Devel20 opment Finance Corporation. 

21 (b) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall, 

23 subject to the prior approval required under subsection 

24 (a)(3), submit to the relevant congressional committees an 

25 initial report that identifies a strategy to achieve the goals 


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1 identified in subsection (a) and an implementation plan 

2 for such strategy that includes each of the following: 

3 (1) The rationale, objectives, and anticipated 

4 manner of implementation of the strategy. 

5 (2) The anticipated role of each Federal depart6 ment or agency involved in implementing such strat7 egy, and the manner in which such departments and 

8 agencies should jointly collaborate at the interagency 

9 level. 

10 (3) A summary of current trade capacity-build11 ing programs, projects, and activities of the United 

12 States in support of the AfCFTA as of the date of 

13 the submission of the report, and the relationships 

14 between such programs, projects, and activities and 

15 the objectives of the strategy. 

16 (4) Any gaps, inefficiencies, or unmet needs 

17 identified in the course of preparing the summary 

18 described in paragraph (3). 

19 (5) Qualitative and quantitative goals and 

20 metrics for the implementation of the strategy, in21 cluding criteria to be used in monitoring and evalu22 ating progress toward the objectives of the strategy. 

23 (6) Recommendations relating to programmatic 

24 or appropriations measures that could potentially en25 hance the implementation of the strategy, including 


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1 legislative or executive policy changes for such en2 hanced implementation. 

3 (c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 10 years after 

4 the date of the submission of the initial report required 

5 by subsection (b), the President shall submit to the rel6 evant congressional committees a report that assesses 

7 progress over the preceding decade of the strategy. Such 

8 report shall also include each of the following: 

9 (1) An assessment of the progress made in the 

10 implementation of the roadmap over the preceding 

11 decade with respect to each of the goals described in 

12 subsection (a)(1), including with respect to the qual13 itative and quantitative goals and metrics included 

14 in the initial report pursuant to subsection (b)(5) 

15 and using the criteria described in such subsection 

16 (b)(5). 

17 (2) An assessment of the successes, challenges, 

18 and effectiveness of the strategy and its implementa19 tion. 

20 (3) Recommended legislative or executive policy 

21 changes relevant to addressing any gaps, policy or 

22 program shortcomings, or other outstanding chal23 lenges relating to the goals of the strategy, along 

24 with descriptions of prospective follow-up activities 

25 necessary to address such challenges. 


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1 (4) Recommendations relating to fostering fur2 ther synergies between implementation of activities, 

3 as relevant and appropriate, relating to the African 

4 Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et 

5 seq.), the AfCFTA, and any other Africa-related 

6 United States trade policy initiatives, including types 

7 of activities and expected outcomes based on the im8 plementation of the roadmap. 

9 (5) A detailed description of the expenditure of 

10 all amounts authorized to implement the roadmap 

11 throughout the 10-year period, including amounts 

12 appropriated pursuant to the authorization under 

13 section 5(b), disaggregated by fiscal year, account, 

14 and activity. 

15 (e) PUBLICATION.—Each report required by this sec16 tion shall be submitted in unclassified form and may in17 clude a classified annex. The unclassified portion of each 

18 such report shall be posted on publicly available websites 

19 of the Office of the United States Trade Representative. 

20 SEC. 5. U.S–AFCFTA STRATEGIC AND INVESTMENT PART21 NERSHIP AGREEMENT. 

22 The United States Trade Representative, in consulta23 tion with the AfCFTA Secretariat, is authorized to iden24 tify initial issues with regard to which the United States, 

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1 menting the AfCFTA should seek to develop an ambitious 

2 roadmap for enhanced cooperation, with the goal of nego3 tiating high-standard commitments in order to achieve 

4 economically meaningful outcomes, including measures 

5 with respect to the following areas, matters, and stated 

6 objectives: 

7 (1) MANUFACTURE AND VALUE ADDITION.— 

8 Increase United States trade and investment to ex9 pand African regional value chains, especially as re10 lated to increasing manufacturing and production on 

11 the continent in industries expected to grow with the 

12 implementation of the AfCFTA, and with respect to 

13 value-added activities related to the processing or 

14 use of basic commodities produced by African coun15 tries. 

16 (2) AGRICULTURE.—Facilitate agricultural 

17 trade, enhance transparency and on the application 

18 of science- and risk-based sanitary and 

19 phytosanitary trade requirements and regulations, 

20 and foster sustainable agricultural practices, as well 

21 as creating an enabling environment for innovative 

22 agricultural technologies that would help achieve 

23 food security goals, increase farm productivity, im24 prove farmer livelihoods, while addressing climate 


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1 change concerns as related to United States-Africa 

2 trade and investment activity. 

3 (3) ANTI-CORRUPTION.—Enhance a shared 

4 commitment and applied programmatic activities to 

5 prevent and combat bribery and other forms of cor6 ruption, including sharing information on best prac7 tices to prevent and combat bribery and corruption, 

8 and efforts to explore the negotiation of specific re9 lated commitments, as related to United States-Afri10 ca trade and investment activity. 

11 (4) DIGITAL TRADE.—Foster African and joint 

12 United States-Africa trade- and investment-related 

13 consumer, business, and worker trust in the digital 

14 economy, including by ensuring access to informa15 tion, promoting the development and use of resilient 

16 and secure digital infrastructure, promoting competi17 tion and the participation of micro, small, and me18 dium enterprises (referred to as ‘‘MSMEs’’), and ad19 dressing discriminatory practices, including meas20 ures to support digital inclusion, to include accessi21 bility online consumer protection, and global discus22 sions on emerging issues in digital trade. 

23 (5) ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE AC24 TION.—Measures to strengthen environmental pro25 tection and, conservation, climate change adaptation 


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1 and mitigation, and sustainable use and manage2 ment of natural resources as such issues may relate 

3 to or help to foster or be advanced by United States4 African trade and investment activity. 

5 (6) GOOD REGULATORY PRACTICES.—Explore 

6 of United States-African negotiations over high-level 

7 commitments on topics such as ensuring adequate 

8 time for public consultations on proposed regula9 tions, posting proposed regulations for review by in10 terested stakeholders, and basing regulatory deci11 sions on best available information, science, and evi12 dence, including undertaking risk analysis and regu13 latory impact assessment as appropriate. 

14 (7) MICRO-, SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED EN15 TERPRISES.—Measures and approaches to integrate 

16 MSMEs, including women-owned enterprises, into 

17 international trade, alongside periodic technical best 

18 practices exchanges and roundtables on MSMEs, 

19 given the key role of successful MSME activity in 

20 achieving sustained economic growth. 

21 (8) PROMOTING WORKERS’ RIGHTS AND PRO22 TECTIONS.—Joint United States-African applied col23 laboration to advance and protect internationally 

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1 motion of social dialogue, and cooperation in other 

2 areas of mutual interest on labor and employment 

3 priorities, including forced labor in global supply 

4 chains. 

5 (9) SUPPORTING PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN, 

6 YOUTH, AND OTHERS IN TRADE.—Promote economic 

7 opportunities for women, youth, persons with disabil8 ities, other vulnerable or socioeconomically 

9 marginalized populations, and the African diaspora 

10 including through the development and adoption of 

11 trade policies to promote and facilitate their partici12 pation in international trade, and to promote good 

13 paying, high-quality jobs and sustainable livelihoods. 

14 (10) STANDARDS COLLABORATION.—Improve 

15 technical and legal standards, conformity assessment 

16 procedures, and technical regulations that have a 

17 significant impact on trade, including opportunities 

18 to reduce impediments to trade due to differences 

19 among national legal and technical systems, and 

20 measures to facilitate mutual understanding among 

21 governments of their peers’ respective processes for 

22 the preparation, adoption, and application of tech23 nical regulations, standards and conformity assess24 ment procedures based on mutually agreed best 

25 practices. 


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1 (11) TRADE FACILITATION AND CUSTOMS PRO2 CEDURES MODERNIZATION.—Increase the volume, 

3 value, and velocity of goods and services traded be4 tween African countries by improving customs oper5 ations, which should include— 

6 (A) measures that take into consideration 

7 the profound disruption that international in8 fectious disease outbreaks and pandemics can 

9 cause to supply chains, as demonstrated by the 

10 2019 coronavirus pandemic, notably in 2020 

11 and 2021, and the demonstrated benefits of 

12 streamlining border procedures and accelerating 

13 World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation 

14 Agreement implementation for trade in goods in 

15 order to better address such challenges, notably 

16 in Africa; 

17 (B) providing support for increased auto18 mation or online processing of customs and 

19 cross-border trade-related tasks; and 

20 (C) supporting efforts— 

21 (i) to ensure adequate access to reli22 able electrical power supplies and internet 

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1 essary, such as at border posts that admin2 ister trade flows; and 

3 (ii) to provide paper-based, or other 

4 applicable technical alternatives at border 

5 crossings where electricity or internet ac6 cess is unreliable or unavailable, including 

7 in coordination with the United States 

8 Power Africa or Prosper Africa initiatives 

9 where applicable. 

10 (12) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.—Strengthen 

11 African Governments intellectual property legal 

12 frameworks by enhancing cooperation to boost inno13 vation, research, and development, propel technology 

14 advancement, promote creativity, attract invest15 ments, and harmonize national laws and regulations 

16 toward such ends, including through the use of 

17 international intellectual property agreements or 

18 treaties. 

19 SEC. 6. AFCFTA TRADE CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM. 

20 (a) TRADE CAPACITY BUILDING IMPLEMENTA21 TION.—The Administrator of the United States Agency 

22 for International Development shall establish an AfCFTA 

23 Trade Capacity Building Program to support the imple24 mentation of the strategy required by section 4 through 

25 existing authorities granted by the Foreign Assistance Act 


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1 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), in collaboration with 

2 continental, regional, and country partners including the 

3 civil society and private sector in Africa. In carrying out 

4 such Program, the Administrator— 

5 (1) may designate the Prosper Africa Initiative 

6 to administer the AfCFTA Trade Capacity Building 

7 Program; 

8 (2) shall consult with the United States Trade 

9 Representative in making programmatic decisions; 

10 and 

11 (3) shall receive approval from the Trade Policy 

12 Staff Committee established pursuant to section 

13 242(a) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 

14 U.S.C. 1872(a)) for all planned activities for which 

15 funds are to be made available (including any trans16 fers to other Federal departments, agencies, or enti17 ties). 

18 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

19 authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fis20 cal years 2025 through 2034 for the United States Agency 

21 for International Development to carry out the AfCFTA 

22 Trade Capacity Building Program described in subsection 

23 (a). Amounts so authorized— 

24 (1) shall be in addition to amounts otherwise 

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1 nomic growth-related projects, programs, and activi2 ties that support the goals of such Program; 

3 (2) may be made available for consulting or 

4 technical services, equipment, new personnel, or 

5 other project-related administrative expenses associ6 ated with the development, implementation, and re7 porting requirements of the President’s strategy re8 quired by section 4(a); and 

9 (3) are authorized to be transferred as nec10 essary to carry out the objectives of this Act from 

11 the United States Agency for International Develop12 ment to other Federal departments or agencies with 

13 a role in implementing the strategy required by sec14 tion 4(a), to the extent provided in advance by ap15 propriations Acts. 

16 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

17 Nothing in this Act may be construed to— 

18 (1) limit any authority or responsibility of the 

19 United States Trade Representative relating to the 

20 establishment or implementation of the trade policies 

21 of the United States (including under section 141 of 

22 the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2171)); or 

23 (2) any such authority or responsibility to the 

24 Administrator of the United States Agency for 

25 International Development. 


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1 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) AfCFTA.—The term ‘‘AfCFTA’’ means the 

4 African Continental Free Trade Area authorized to 

5 be created under the Agreement Establishing the Af6 rican Continental Free Trade Area, adopted by its 

7 African Union signatories in Kigali, Rwanda, on 

8 March 21, 2018. 

9 (2) AFRICAN DIASPORA.—The term ‘‘African 

10 diaspora’’ means ‘‘consisting of people of African or11 igin living outside the continent, irrespective of their 

12 citizenship and nationality and who are willing to 

13 contribute to the development of the continent and 

14 the building of the African Union’’ as defined by the 

15 African Union. 

16 (3) AFRICAN REGIONAL ECONOMIC COMMU17 NITIES.—The term ‘‘Africa Regional Economic Com18 munities’’ means various economic and political or19 ganizations in Africa established to promote regional 

20 integration, cooperation, and development among 

21 states. These communities include entities such as 

22 the African Union (AU, Economic community of 

23 West Africa States (ECOWAS), East African Com24 munity (EAC), Southern African Development Com25 munity (SADC), and others. 


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1 (4) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘relevant congressional commit3 tees’’ means the following: 

4 (A) The Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

5 Committee on Ways and Means, and the Com6 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep7 resentatives. 

8 (B) The Committee on Foreign Relations, 

9 the Committee on Finance, and the Committee 

10 on Appropriations of the Senate. 

Æ 


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