II 

Calendar No. 536 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2215 

[Report No. 112–231] 

To create jobs in the United States by increasing United States exports 

to Africa by at least 200 percent in real dollar value within 10 years, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 21, 2012 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. COONS, Mr. CARDIN, and Ms. 

LANDRIEU) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

NOVEMBER 13, 2012 

Reported by Mr. KERRY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To create jobs in the United States by increasing United 

States exports to Africa by at least 200 percent in real 

dollar value within 10 years, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Increasing American 

3 Jobs Through Greater Exports to Africa Act of 2012’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find6 ings: 

7 (1) Export growth helps United States business 

8 grow and create American jobs. In 2010, 60 percent 

9 of American exports came from small- and medium10 sized businesses. 

11 (2) On January 31, 2011, the President man12 dated an executive review across agencies to deter13 mine where the United States Government could be14 come more competitive and helpful to business, in15 cluding help with promoting exports. 

16 (3) Several United States Government agencies 

17 are involved in export promotion. Coordination of 

18 the efforts of these agencies through the Trade Pro19 motion Coordinating Committee lacks sufficient stra20 tegic implementation and accountability. 

21 (4) Many other countries have trade promotion 

22 programs that aggressively compete against United 

23 States exports in Africa and around the world. For 

24 example, in 2010, medium- and long-term official ex25 port credit general volumes from the Group of 7 

26 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, 


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1 the United Kingdom, and the United States) totaled 

2 $65,400,000,000. Germany provided the largest level 

3 of support at $22,500,000,000, followed by France 

4 at $17,400,000,000 and the United States at 

5 $13,000,000,000. Official export credit support by 

6 emerging market economies such as Brazil, China, 

7 and India are significant as well. 

8 (5) Between 2008 and 2010, China alone pro9 vided more than $110,000,000,000 in loans to the 

10 developing world, and, in 2009, China surpassed the 

11 United States as the leading trade partner of Afri12 can countries. The Export-Import Bank of the 

13 United States substantially increased lending to 

14 United States businesses focused on Africa from 

15 $400,000,000 in 2009 to an anticipated 

16 $1,000,000,000 in 2011, but the Export-Import 

17 Bank of China dwarfed this effort with an estimated 

18 $12,000,000,000 worth of financing. 

19 (6) Other countries such as India, Turkey, Rus20 sia, and Brazil are also aggressively seeking markets 

21 in Africa using their national export banks to pro22 vide concessional assistance. 

23 (7) The Chinese practice of concessional financ24 ing runs contrary to the principles of the Organiza25 tion of Economic Co-operation and Development reVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:47 Nov 13, 2012 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2215.RS S2215

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1 lated to open market rates, undermines naturally 

2 competitive rates, and can allow governments in Af3 rica to overlook the troubling record on labor prac4 tices, human rights, and environmental impact. 

5 (8) The African continent is undergoing a pe6 riod of rapid growth and middle class development, 

7 as seen from major indicators such as Internet use 

8 and clean water access. In 2000, only 6.7 percent of 

9 the population of Africa had access to the Internet. 

10 In 2009, 27.1 percent of the population had Internet 

11 access. Seventy-eight percent of Africa’s rural popu12 lation now has access to clean water. 

13 (9) Economists have designated Africa as the 

14 ‘‘next frontier market’’, with profitability and growth 

15 rates among many African firms exceeding global 

16 averages in recent years. Countries in Africa have a 

17 collective spending power of almost $9,000,000,000 

18 and a gross domestic product of 

19 $1,600,000,000,000, which are projected to double 

20 in the next 10 years. 

21 (10) Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to have 

22 the fastest growing economies in the world over the 

23 next 5 years, with 7 of the 10 fastest growing econo24 mies located in sub-Saharan Africa. 


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1 (11) When countries such as China assist with 

2 large-scale government projects, they also gain an 

3 upper hand in relations with African leaders and ac4 cess to valuable commodities such as oil and copper, 

5 typically without regard to environmental, human 

6 rights, labor, or governance standards. 

7 (12) Unless the United States can offer com8 petitive financing for its firms in Africa, it will be 

9 deprived of opportunities to participate in African 

10 efforts to close the continent’s significant infrastruc11 ture gap that amounts to an estimated 

12 $100,000,000,000. 

13 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to create 

14 jobs in the United States by expanding programs that will 

15 result in increasing United States exports to Africa by 200 

16 percent in real dollar value within 10 years. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) AFRICA.—The term ‘‘Africa’’ refers to the 

20 entire continent of Africa and its 54 countries, in21 cluding the Republic of South Sudan. 

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

23 diaspora’’ means the people of African origin living 

24 in the United States, irrespective of their citizenship 


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1 and nationality, who are willing to contribute to the 

2 development of Africa. 

3 (3) AGOA.—The term ‘‘AGOA’’ means the Af4 rican Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 

5 et seq.). 

6 (4) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

10 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

11 Affairs, and the Committee on Foreign Rela12 tions of the Senate; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

14 Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Com15 mittee on Financial Services, the Committee on 

16 Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Ways 

17 and Means of the House of Representatives. 

18 (5) DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘de19 velopment agencies’’ includes the Department of 

20 State, including the United States Agency for Inter21 national Development (USAID), the Millennium 

22 Challenge Corporation (MCC), the Overseas Private 

23 Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the United 

24 States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). 


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1 (6) TRADE POLICY STAFF COMMITTEE.—The 

2 term ‘‘Trade Policy Staff Committee’’ means the 

3 Trade Policy Staff Committee established pursuant 

4 to section 2002.2 of title 15, Code of Federal Regu5 lations, and is composed of representatives of Fed6 eral agencies in charge of developing and coordi7 nating United States positions on international trade 

8 and trade-related investment issues. 

9 (7) MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS.— 

10 The term ‘‘multilateral development banks’’ has the 

11 meaning given that term in section 1701(c)(4) of the 

12 International Financial Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 

13 262r(c)(4)) and includes the African Development 

14 Foundation. 

15 (8) SUB-SAHARAN REGION.—The term ‘‘sub-Sa16 haran region’’ refers to the 49 countries listed in 

17 section 107 of the African Growth and Opportunity 

18 Act (19 U.S.C. 3706) and includes the Republic of 

19 South Sudan. 

20 (9) TRADE PROMOTION COORDINATING COM21 MITTEE.—The term ‘‘Trade Promotion Coordinating 

22 Committee’’ means the Trade Promotion Coordi23 nating Committee established by Executive Order 

24 12870 (58 Fed. Reg. 51753). 


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1 (10) UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN COMMER2 CIAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘United States and For3 eign Commercial Service’’ means the United States 

4 and Foreign Commercial Service established by sec5 tion 2301 of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 

6 (15 U.S.C. 4721). 

7 SEC. 4. STRATEGY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall es10 tablish a comprehensive United States strategy for public 

11 and private investment, trade, and development in Africa. 

12 (b) FOCUS OF STRATEGY.—The strategy required by 

13 subsection (a) shall focus on— 

14 (1) increasing exports of United States goods 

15 and services to Africa by 200 percent in real dollar 

16 value within 10 years from the date of the enact17 ment of this Act; 

18 (2) coordinating United States commercial in19 terests with development priorities in Africa; 

20 (3) developing relationships between the govern21 ments of countries in Africa and United States busi22 nesses that have an expertise in such issues as infra23 structure development, technology, telecommuni24 cations, energy, and agriculture; 


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1 (4) improving the competitiveness of United 

2 States businesses in Africa, including the role the 

3 African diaspora can play in enhancing such com4 petitiveness; 

5 (5) exploring ways that African diaspora remit6 tances can help governments in Africa tackle eco7 nomic, development, and infrastructure financing 

8 needs; 

9 (6) promoting economic integration in Africa 

10 through working with the subregional economic com11 munities, supporting efforts for deeper integration 

12 through the development of customs unions within 

13 western and central Africa and within eastern and 

14 southern Africa, eliminating time-consuming border 

15 formalities into and within these areas, and sup16 porting regionally based infrastructure projects; 

17 (7) encouraging a greater understanding among 

18 United States business and financial communities of 

19 the opportunities Africa holds for United States ex20 ports; and 

21 (8) monitoring— 

22 (A) market loan rates and the availability 

23 of capital for United States business investment 

24 in Africa; 


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1 (B) loan rates offered by the governments 

2 of other countries for investment in Africa; and 

3 (C) the policies of other countries with re4 spect to export financing for investment in Afri5 ca that are predatory or distort markets. 

6 (c) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing the strategy re7 quired by subsection (a), the President shall consult 

8 with— 

9 (1) Congress; 

10 (2) each agency that is a member of the Trade 

11 Promotion Coordinating Committee; 

12 (3) the multilateral development banks; 

13 (4) each agency that participates in the Trade 

14 Policy Staff Committee; 

15 (5) the President’s National Export Council; 

16 (6) each of the development agencies; 

17 (7) any other Federal agencies with responsi18 bility for export promotion or financing and develop19 ment; and 

20 (8) the private sector, including businesses, 

21 nongovernmental organizations, and African dias22 pora groups. 

23 (d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 

24 (1) STRATEGY.—Not later than 180 days after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 


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1 shall submit to Congress the strategy required by 

2 subsection (a). 

3 (2) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 3 

4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

5 President shall submit to Congress a report on the 

6 implementation of the strategy required by sub7 section (a). 

8 (3) CONTENT OF REPORT.—The report re9 quired by paragraph (2) shall include an assessment 

10 of the extent to which the strategy required by sub11 section (a)— 

12 (A) has been successful in developing crit13 ical analyses of policies to increase exports to 

14 Africa; 

15 (B) has been successful in increasing the 

16 competitiveness of United States businesses in 

17 Africa; 

18 (C) has been successful in creating jobs in 

19 the United States, including the nature and 

20 sustainability of such jobs; 

21 (D) has provided sufficient United States 

22 Government support to meet third country com23 petition in the region; 


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1 (E) has been successful in helping the Af2 rican diaspora in the United States participate 

3 in economic growth in Africa; 

4 (F) has been successful in promoting eco5 nomic integration in Africa; and 

6 (G) has made a meaningful contribution to 

7 the transformation of Africa and its full inte8 gration into the 21st century world economy, 

9 not only as a supplier of primary products but 

10 also as full participant in international supply 

11 and distribution chains. 

12 SEC. 5. SPECIAL AFRICA STRATEGY COORDINATOR. 

13 The President shall designate an individual to serve 

14 as Special Africa Export Strategy Coordinator— 

15 (1) to oversee the development and implementa16 tion of the strategy required by section 4; and 

17 (2) to coordinate with the Trade Promotion Co18 ordinating Committee, (the interagency AGOA com19 mittees), and development agencies with respect to 

20 developing and implementing the strategy. 

21 SEC. 6. TRADE MISSION TO AFRICA. 

22 It is the sense of Congress that, not later than 1 year 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

24 of Commerce and other high-level officials of the United 

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1 motion, financing, and development should conduct a joint 

2 trade mission to Africa. 

3 SEC. 7. PERSONNEL. 

4 (a) UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN COMMERCIAL

5 SERVICE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

8 of Commerce shall ensure that not less than 14 total 

9 United States and Foreign Commercial Service offi10 cers are assigned to Africa. 

11 (2) ASSIGNMENT.—The Secretary shall, in con12 sultation with the Trade Promotion Coordinating 

13 Committee and the Special Africa Export Strategy 

14 Coordinator, assign the United States and Foreign 

15 Commercial Service officers described in paragraph 

16 (1) to United States embassies in Africa. 

17 (3) MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

20 Secretary of Commerce shall assign not less 

21 than 1 full-time United States and Foreign 

22 Commercial Service officer to the office of the 

23 United States Executive Director at each multi24 lateral development bank. 


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1 (B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each United 

2 States and Foreign Commercial Service officer 

3 assigned under subparagraph (A) shall be re4 sponsible for— 

5 (i) increasing the access of United 

6 States businesses to procurement contracts 

7 with the multilateral development bank to 

8 which the officer is assigned; and 

9 (ii) facilitating the access of United 

10 States businesses to risk insurance, equity 

11 investments, consulting services, and lend12 ing provided by that bank. 

13 (b) EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED

14 STATES.—Of the amounts collected by the Export-Import 

15 Bank that remain after paying the expenses the Bank is 

16 authorized to pay from such amounts for administrative 

17 expenses, the Bank shall use sufficient funds to do the 

18 following: 

19 (1) Assign, in consultation with the Trade Pro20 motion Coordinating Committee and the Special Af21 rica Export Strategy Coordinator, not less than 3 

22 full-time employees of the Bank to geographically 

23 appropriate field offices in Africa. 

24 (2) Increase the number of employees of the 

25 Bank assigned to United States field offices of the 


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1 Bank to not less than 30, to be distributed as geo2 graphically appropriate through the United States. 

3 Such offices shall coordinate with the related export 

4 efforts undertaken by the Small Business Adminis5 tration regional field offices. 

6 (3) Upgrade the Bank’s equipment and soft7 ware to more expeditiously, effectively, and effi8 ciently process and track applications for financing 

9 received by the Bank. 

10 (c) OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORA11 TION.— 

12 (1) STAFFING.—Of the net offsetting collections 

13 collected by the Overseas Private Investment Cor14 poration used for administrative expenses, the Cor15 poration shall use sufficient funds to increase by not 

16 more than 5 the staff needed to promote stable and 

17 sustainable economic growth and development in Af18 rica, to strengthen and expand the private sector in 

19 Africa, and to facilitate the general economic devel20 opment of Africa, with a particular focus on helping 

21 United States businesses expand into African mar22 kets. 

23 (2) REPORT.—The Corporation shall report to 

24 the appropriate congressional committees on whether 

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1 fective and efficient processing and tracking of appli2 cations for financing received by the Corporation. 

3 SEC. 8. TRAINING. 

4 The President shall develop a plan— 

5 (1) to standardize the training received by 

6 United States and Foreign Commercial Service offi7 cers, economic officers of the Department of State, 

8 and economic officers of the United States Agency 

9 for International Development with respect to the 

10 programs and procedures of the Export-Import 

11 Bank of the United States, the Overseas Private In12 vestment Corporation, the Small Business Adminis13 tration, and the United States Trade and Develop14 ment Agency; and 

15 (2) to ensure that, not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act— 

17 (A) all United States and Foreign Com18 mercial Service officers that are stationed over19 seas receive the training described in paragraph 

20 (1); and 

21 (B) in the case of a country to which no 

22 United States and Foreign Commercial Service 

23 officer is assigned, any economic officer of the 

24 Department of State stationed in that country 

25 shall receive that training. 


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1 SEC. 9. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK CAPITALIZATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(a)(2) of the Export-Im3 port Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635e(a)(2)) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

6 (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘2011,’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘2011, $95,000,000,000;’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(F) during fiscal year 2012 and each fis10 cal year thereafter through fiscal year 2016, 

11 $150,000,000,000; and 

12 ‘‘(G) subject to paragraph (4), during fis13 cal year 2017 and each fiscal year thereafter, 

14 $175,000,000,000.’’. 

15 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR INCREASE IN APPLICABLE

16 AMOUNT.—Section 6(a) of the Export-Import Bank Act 

17 of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635e(a)) is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following: 

19 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR INCREASE IN APPLICA20 BLE AMOUNT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in fiscal 

22 year 2017, and each fiscal year thereafter, the 

23 applicable amount under paragraph (1) shall be 

24 $175,000,000,000, if the Comptroller General 

25 of the United States determines pursuant to 

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1 plicable amount under paragraph (1)(F) has 

2 been effective in increasing viable loans to fur3 ther United States exports, including to Africa. 

4 ‘‘(B) REPORT BY GAO.—The Comptroller 

5 General of the United States shall conduct a 

6 study of the operations of the Bank and the ef7 fectiveness of increasing the applicable amount 

8 under this subsection. Not later than 18 

9 months after the date of the enactment of this 

10 Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a re11 port to Congress regarding the Comptroller 

12 General’s determination on the effective use by 

13 the Bank of the increase in the applicable 

14 amount under this subsection.’’. 

15 (c) PERCENT TO BE USED FOR PROJECTS IN AFRI16 CA.—Section 6(a) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 

17 (12 U.S.C. 635e(a)), as amended by subsection (b), is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) PERCENT OF INCREASE TO BE USED FOR

20 PROJECTS IN AFRICA.—Not less than 25 percent of 

21 the amount by which the applicable amount under 

22 paragraph (1) is increased under paragraph (2) (F) 

23 or (G) over the applicable amount for fiscal year 

24 2011 shall be used for loans, guarantees, and insur25 ance for projects in Africa.’’. 


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1 (d) AVAILABILITY OF PORTION OF CAPITALIZATION

2 TO COMPETE AGAINST FOREIGN CONCESSIONAL

3 LOANS.—Not less than $250,000,000 of the total bank 

4 capitalization of the Export-Import Bank shall be avail5 able annually for loans that counter below-market rate, 

6 preferential, tied aid, or other related non-market loans 

7 offered by other nations for which United States compa8 nies are also competing or interested in competing. 

9 SEC. 10. TIED AID CREDIT FUND. 

10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that the Export-Import Bank should use its Tied 

12 Aid Credit Fund to aggressively help United States com13 panies compete for projects in which a foreign government 

14 is using any type of below market, preferential, or tied 

15 aid loan. The Bank shall make use of any loan products 

16 available, including pursuant to section 9(d), to counter 

17 these foreign offerings. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

20 Export-Import Bank shall report to the appropriate con21 gressional committees if the Bank has not used at least 

22 $220,000,000 in tied aid credit during the preceding fiscal 

23 year. The report shall include— 

24 (1) a description of all requests for grants from 

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1 tablished under section 10 of the Export-Import 

2 Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635i–3)) received by 

3 the Bank during that fiscal year; 

4 (2) a description of similar concessional (below 

5 market rate) loans made by other countries during 

6 that fiscal year; and 

7 (3) a description of any such grant requests 

8 that were denied and the reason for such denial. 

9 SEC. 11. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. 

10 Section 22(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 649(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

13 inserting ‘‘the Trade Promotion Coordinating Com14 mittee,’’ after ‘‘Director of the United States Trade 

15 and Development Agency,’’; and 

16 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘regional of17 fices of the Export-Import Bank,’’ after ‘‘Retired 

18 Executives,’’. 

19 SEC. 12. BILATERAL, SUBREGIONAL AND REGIONAL, AND 

20 MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS. 

21 Where applicable, the United States Trade Rep22 resentative and officials of the Export-Import Bank shall 

23 explore opportunities to negotiate bilateral, subregional, 

24 and regional agreements that encourage trade and elimi25 nate nontariff barriers to trade between countries, such 


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1 as negotiating investor friendly double-taxation treaties 

2 and investment promotion agreements. United States ne3 gotiators in multilateral forum should take into account 

4 the objectives of this Act. To the extent any such agree5 ments exist between the United States and an African 

6 country, the Trade Representative shall ensure that the 

7 agreement is being implemented in a manner that maxi8 mizes the positive effects for United States trade, export, 

9 and labor interests as well as the economic development 

10 of the countries in Africa. 

11 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

12 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Increasing American 

13 Jobs Through Greater Exports to Africa Act of 2012’’. 

14 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

15 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: 

16 (1) Export growth helps United States business 

17 grow and create American jobs. In 2010, 60 percent 

18 of American exports came from small- and medium19 sized businesses. 

20 (2) On January 31, 2011, the President man21 dated an executive review across agencies to determine 

22 where the United States Government could become 

23 more competitive and helpful to business, including 

24 help with promoting exports. 


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1 (3) Several United States Government agencies 

2 are involved in export promotion. Coordination of the 

3 efforts of these agencies through the Trade Promotion 

4 Coordinating Committee lacks sufficient strategic im5 plementation and accountability. 

6 (4) Many other countries have trade promotion 

7 programs that aggressively compete against United 

8 States exports in Africa and around the world. For 

9 example, in 2010, medium- and long-term official ex10 port credit general volumes from the Group of 7 coun11 tries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the 

12 United Kingdom, and the United States) totaled 

13 $65,400,000,000. Germany provided the largest level 

14 of support at $22,500,000,000, followed by France at 

15 $17,400,000,000 and the United States at 

16 $13,000,000,000. Official export credit support by 

17 emerging market economies such as Brazil, China, 

18 and India are significant as well. 

19 (5) Between 2008 and 2010, China alone pro20 vided more than $110,000,000,000 in loans to the de21 veloping world, and, in 2009, China surpassed the 

22 United States as the leading trade partner of African 

23 countries. The Export-Import Bank of the United 

24 States substantially increased lending to United 

25 States businesses focused on Africa from $400,000,000 


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1 in 2009 to an anticipated $1,000,000,000 in 2011, 

2 but the Export-Import Bank of China dwarfed this ef3 fort with an estimated $12,000,000,000 worth of fi4 nancing. 

5 (6) Other countries such as India, Turkey, Rus6 sia, and Brazil are also aggressively seeking markets 

7 in Africa using their national export banks to provide 

8 concessional assistance. 

9 (7) The Chinese practice of concessional financ10 ing runs contrary to the principles of the Organiza11 tion of Economic Co-operation and Development re12 lated to open market rates, undermines naturally 

13 competitive rates, and can allow governments in Afri14 ca to overlook the troubling record on labor practices, 

15 human rights, and environmental impact. 

16 (8) The African continent is undergoing a period 

17 of rapid growth and middle class development, as seen 

18 from major indicators such as Internet use and clean 

19 water access. In 2000, only 6.7 percent of the popu20 lation of Africa had access to the Internet. In 2009, 

21 27.1 percent of the population had Internet access. 

22 Seventy-eight percent of Africa’s rural population 

23 now has access to clean water. 

24 (9) Economists have designated Africa as the 

25 ‘‘next frontier market’’, with profitability and growth 


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1 rates among many African firms exceeding global 

2 averages in recent years. Countries in Africa have a 

3 collective spending power of almost $9,000,000,000 

4 and a gross domestic product of $1,600,000,000,000, 

5 which are projected to double in the next 10 years. 

6 (10) Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to have the 

7 fastest growing economies in the world over the next 

8 5 years, with 7 of the 10 fastest growing economies 

9 located in sub-Saharan Africa. 

10 (11) When countries such as China assist with 

11 large-scale government projects, they also gain an 

12 upper hand in relations with African leaders and ac13 cess to valuable commodities such as oil and copper, 

14 typically without regard to environmental, human 

15 rights, labor, or governance standards. 

16 (12) Unless the United States can offer competi17 tive financing for its firms in Africa, it will be de18 prived of opportunities to participate in African ef19 forts to close the continent’s significant infrastructure 

20 gap that amounts to an estimated $100,000,000,000. 

21 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to create jobs 

22 in the United States by expanding programs that will result 

23 in increasing United States exports to Africa by 200 per24 cent in real dollar value within 10 years. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) AFRICA.—The term ‘‘Africa’’ refers to the en4 tire continent of Africa and its 54 countries, includ5 ing the Republic of South Sudan. 

6 (2) AFRICAN DIASPORA.—The term ‘‘African di7 aspora’’ means the people of African origin living in 

8 the United States, irrespective of their citizenship and 

9 nationality, who are willing to contribute to the de10 velopment of Africa. 

11 (3) AGOA.—The term ‘‘AGOA’’ means the Afri12 can Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et 

13 seq.). 

14 (4) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT15 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit16 tees’’ means— 

17 (A) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

18 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af19 fairs, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

20 the Senate; and 

21 (B) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

22 Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Com23 mittee on Financial Services, the Committee on 

24 Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Ways 

25 and Means of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (5) DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘devel2 opment agencies’’ includes the Department of State, 

3 the United States Agency for International Develop4 ment (USAID), the Millennium Challenge Corpora5 tion (MCC), the Overseas Private Investment Cor6 poration (OPIC), the United States Trade and Devel7 opment Agency (USTDA), the United States Depart8 ment of Agriculture (USDA), and relevant multilat9 eral development banks. 

10 (6) TRADE POLICY STAFF COMMITTEE.—The 

11 term ‘‘Trade Policy Staff Committee’’ means the 

12 Trade Policy Staff Committee established pursuant to 

13 section 2002.2 of title 15, Code of Federal Regula14 tions, and is composed of representatives of Federal 

15 agencies in charge of developing and coordinating 

16 United States positions on international trade and 

17 trade-related investment issues. 

18 (7) MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS.—The 

19 term ‘‘multilateral development banks’’ has the mean20 ing given that term in section 1701(c)(4) of the Inter21 national Financial Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 

22 262r(c)(4)) and includes the African Development 

23 Foundation. 

24 (8) SUB-SAHARAN REGION.—The term ‘‘sub-Sa25 haran region’’ refers to the 49 countries listed in secVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:47 Nov 13, 2012 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2215.RS S2215

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1 tion 107 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act 

2 (19 U.S.C. 3706) and includes the Republic of South 

3 Sudan. 

4 (9) TRADE PROMOTION COORDINATING COM5 MITTEE.—The term ‘‘Trade Promotion Coordinating 

6 Committee’’ means the Trade Promotion Coordi7 nating Committee established by Executive Order 

8 12870 (58 Fed. Reg. 51753). 

9 (10) UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN COMMERCIAL

10 SERVICE.—The term ‘‘United States and Foreign 

11 Commercial Service’’ means the United States and 

12 Foreign Commercial Service established by section 

13 2301 of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 

14 U.S.C. 4721). 

15 SEC. 4. STRATEGY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall estab18 lish a comprehensive United States strategy for public and 

19 private investment, trade, and development in Africa. 

20 (b) FOCUS OF STRATEGY.—The strategy required by 

21 subsection (a) shall focus on— 

22 (1) increasing exports of United States goods 

23 and services to Africa by 200 percent in real dollar 

24 value within 10 years from the date of the enactment 

25 of this Act; 


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1 (2) promoting the alignment of United States 

2 commercial interests with development priorities in 

3 Africa; 

4 (3) developing relationships between the govern5 ments of countries in Africa and United States busi6 nesses that have an expertise in such issues as infra7 structure development, technology, telecommuni8 cations, energy, and agriculture; 

9 (4) improving the competitiveness of United 

10 States businesses in Africa, including the role the Af11 rican diaspora can play in enhancing such competi12 tiveness; 

13 (5) exploring ways that African diaspora remit14 tances can help communities in Africa tackle eco15 nomic, development, and infrastructure financing 

16 needs; 

17 (6) promoting economic integration in Africa 

18 through working with the subregional economic com19 munities, supporting efforts for deeper integration 

20 through the development of customs unions within 

21 western and central Africa and within eastern and 

22 southern Africa, eliminating time-consuming border 

23 formalities into and within these areas, and sup24 porting regionally based infrastructure projects; 


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1 (7) encouraging a greater understanding among 

2 United States business and financial communities of 

3 the opportunities Africa holds for United States ex4 ports; and 

5 (8) monitoring— 

6 (A) market loan rates and the availability 

7 of capital for United States business investment 

8 in Africa; 

9 (B) loan rates offered by the governments of 

10 other countries for investment in Africa; and 

11 (C) the policies of other countries with re12 spect to export financing for investment in Afri13 ca that are predatory or distort markets. 

14 (c) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing the strategy re15 quired by subsection (a), the President shall consult with— 

16 (1) Congress; 

17 (2) each agency that is a member of the Trade 

18 Promotion Coordinating Committee; 

19 (3) the relevant multilateral development banks, 

20 in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury 

21 and the respective United States Executive Directors 

22 of such banks; 

23 (4) each agency that participates in the Trade 

24 Policy Staff Committee; 

25 (5) the President’s National Export Council; 


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1 (6) each of the development agencies; 

2 (7) any other Federal agencies with responsi3 bility for export promotion or financing and develop4 ment; and 

5 (8) the private sector, including businesses, non6 governmental organizations, and African diaspora 

7 groups. 

8 (d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 

9 (1) STRATEGY.—Not later than 180 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

11 shall submit to Congress the strategy required by sub12 section (a). 

13 (2) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi15 dent shall submit to Congress a report on the imple16 mentation of the strategy required by subsection (a). 

17 (3) CONTENT OF REPORT.—The report required 

18 by paragraph (2) shall include an assessment of the 

19 extent to which the strategy required by subsection 

20 (a)— 

21 (A) has been successful in developing crit22 ical analyses of policies to increase exports to Af23 rica; 


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1 (B) has been successful in increasing the 

2 competitiveness of United States businesses in 

3 Africa; 

4 (C) has been successful in creating jobs in 

5 the United States, including the nature and sus6 tainability of such jobs; 

7 (D) has provided sufficient United States 

8 Government support to meet third country com9 petition in the region; 

10 (E) has been successful in helping the Afri11 can diaspora in the United States participate in 

12 economic growth in Africa; 

13 (F) has been successful in promoting eco14 nomic integration in Africa; and 

15 (G) has made a meaningful contribution to 

16 the transformation of Africa and its full integra17 tion into the 21st century world economy, not 

18 only as a supplier of primary products but also 

19 as full participant in international supply and 

20 distribution chains and as a consumer of inter21 national goods and services. 

22 SEC. 5. SPECIAL AFRICA STRATEGY COORDINATOR. 

23 The President shall designate an individual to serve 

24 as Special Africa Export Strategy Coordinator— 


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1 (1) to oversee the development and implementa2 tion of the strategy required by section 4; and 

3 (2) to coordinate with the Trade Promotion Co4 ordinating Committee, (the interagency AGOA com5 mittees), and development agencies with respect to de6 veloping and implementing the strategy. 

7 SEC. 6. TRADE MISSION TO AFRICA. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that, not later than 1 year 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

10 of Commerce and other high-level officials of the United 

11 States Government with responsibility for export pro12 motion, financing, and development should conduct a joint 

13 trade mission to Africa. 

14 SEC. 7. PERSONNEL. 

15 (a) UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN COMMERCIAL

16 SERVICE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce 

18 shall ensure that not less than 12 total United States 

19 and Foreign Commercial Service officers are assigned 

20 to Africa for each of the first 5 fiscal years beginning 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 (2) ASSIGNMENT.—The Secretary shall, in con23 sultation with the Trade Promotion Coordinating 

24 Committee and the Special Africa Export Strategy 

25 Coordinator, assign the United States and Foreign 


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1 Commercial Service officers described in paragraph 

2 (1) to United States embassies in Africa after con3 ducting a timely resource allocation analysis that 

4 represents a forward-looking assessment of future 

5 United States trade opportunities in Africa. 

6 (3) MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

9 Secretary of Commerce shall assign not less than 

10 1 full-time United States and Foreign Commer11 cial Service officer to the office of the United 

12 States Executive Director at the World Bank and 

13 the African Development Bank. 

14 (B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each United 

15 States and Foreign Commercial Service officer 

16 assigned under subparagraph (A) shall be re17 sponsible for— 

18 (i) increasing the access of United 

19 States businesses to procurement contracts 

20 with the multilateral development bank to 

21 which the officer is assigned; and 

22 (ii) facilitating the access of United 

23 States businesses to risk insurance, equity 

24 investments, consulting services, and lend25 ing provided by that bank. 


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1 (b) EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES.— 

2 Of the amounts collected by the Export-Import Bank that 

3 remain after paying the expenses the Bank is authorized 

4 to pay from such amounts for administrative expenses, the 

5 Bank shall use sufficient funds to do the following: 

6 (1) Increase the number of staff who spend the 

7 majority of the year based in Africa, and increase the 

8 number of business development trips it conducts in 

9 Africa to meet the goals set forth in section 9. 

10 (2) Increase the number of employees of the Bank 

11 assigned to United States field offices of the Bank to 

12 not less than 30, to be distributed as geographically 

13 appropriate through the United States. Such offices 

14 shall coordinate with the related export efforts under15 taken by the Small Business Administration regional 

16 field offices. 

17 (3) Upgrade the Bank’s equipment and software 

18 to more expeditiously, effectively, and efficiently proc19 ess and track applications for financing received by 

20 the Bank. 

21 (c) OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION.— 

22 (1) STAFFING.—Of the net offsetting collections 

23 collected by the Overseas Private Investment Corpora24 tion used for administrative expenses, the Corporation 

25 shall use sufficient funds to increase by not more than 


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1 5 the staff needed to promote stable and sustainable 

2 economic growth and development in Africa, to 

3 strengthen and expand the private sector in Africa, 

4 and to facilitate the general economic development of 

5 Africa, with a particular focus on helping United 

6 States businesses expand into African markets. 

7 (2) REPORT.—The Corporation shall report to 

8 the appropriate congressional committees on whether 

9 recent technology upgrades have resulted in more ef10 fective and efficient processing and tracking of appli11 cations for financing received by the Corporation. 

12 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

13 shall be construed as permitting the reduction of Depart14 ment of Commerce, Department of State, Export Import 

15 Bank, or Overseas Private Investment Corporation per16 sonnel or the alteration of planned personnel increases in 

17 other regions, except where a personnel decrease was pre18 viously anticipated or where decreased export opportunities 

19 justify personnel reductions. 

20 SEC. 8. TRAINING. 

21 The President shall develop a plan— 

22 (1) to standardize the training received by 

23 United States and Foreign Commercial Service offi24 cers, economic officers of the Department of State, 

25 and economic officers of the United States Agency for 


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1 International Development with respect to the pro2 grams and procedures of the Export-Import Bank of 

3 the United States, the Overseas Private Investment 

4 Corporation, the Small Business Administration, and 

5 the United States Trade and Development Agency; 

6 and 

7 (2) to ensure that, not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act— 

9 (A) all United States and Foreign Commer10 cial Service officers that are stationed overseas 

11 receive the training described in paragraph (1); 

12 and 

13 (B) in the case of a country to which no 

14 United States and Foreign Commercial Service 

15 officer is assigned, any economic officer of the 

16 Department of State stationed in that country 

17 shall receive that training. 

18 SEC. 9. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK FINANCING. 

19 (a) FINANCING FOR PROJECTS IN AFRICA.— 

20 (1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

21 Congress that foreign export credit agencies are pro22 viding non-OECD arrangement compliant financing 

23 in Africa, and that in order to counter such actions 

24 and ensure United States jobs, the Export-Import 


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1 Bank should provide timely financing to meet such 

2 terms, as appropriate. 

3 (2) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(a) of the Export4 Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635e(a)) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(4) PERCENT OF FINANCING TO BE USED FOR

7 PROJECTS IN AFRICA.—The Bank shall increase the 

8 amount it finances to Africa over the prior year’s fi9 nancing for each of the first five fiscal years begin10 ning after the date of the enactment of the Increasing 

11 American Jobs Through Greater Exports to Africa 

12 Act of 2012.’’. 

13 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there15 after for 5 years, the Export-Import Bank shall report 

16 to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

17 Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the 

18 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

19 Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on 

20 Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropria21 tions of the House of Representatives if the Bank has 

22 not used at least 10 percent of its lending capabilities 

23 for projects in Africa as described in paragraph (4) 

24 of section 6(a) of the Export-Import Bank of 1945, as 

25 added by paragraph (2). The report shall include the 


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1 reasons why the Bank failed to reach this goal and 

2 a description of all final applications for projects in 

3 Africa that were deemed unworthy of Bank support. 

4 (b) AVAILABILITY OF PORTION OF CAPITALIZATION TO

5 COMPETE AGAINST FOREIGN CONCESSIONAL LOANS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Bank shall make avail7 able annually such amounts as are necessary for 

8 loans that counter trade distorting non-OECD ar9 rangement compliant financing or preferential, tied 

10 aid, or other related non-market loans offered by other 

11 nations for which United States companies are also 

12 competing or interested in competing. 

13 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there15 after for 5 years, the Export-Import Bank shall report 

16 to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

17 Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the 

18 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

19 Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on 

20 Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropria21 tions of the House of Representatives if the Bank has 

22 not used at least $250,000,000 annually for loans that 

23 counter non-OECD arrangement compliant financing 

24 offered by other nations to its firms, as described in 

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1 formation that is confidential or business proprietary, 

2 or that would violate section 1905 of title 18, United 

3 States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Trade Se4 crets Act’’). The report shall include— 

5 (A) a description of trade distorting non6 OECD arrangement compliant financing loans 

7 made by other countries during that fiscal year 

8 to firms that competed against United States 

9 firms; 

10 (B) a description of any similar completed 

11 applications from United States firms that were 

12 denied by the Bank and the reason for such de13 nial; and 

14 (C) a description of any completed applica15 tions for tied aid that were denied for financing 

16 by the Bank and an explanation of why the ap17 plications were denied. 

18 SEC. 10. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. 

19 Section 22(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

20 649(b)) is amended— 

21 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

22 inserting ‘‘the Trade Promotion Coordinating Com23 mittee,’’ after ‘‘Director of the United States Trade 

24 and Development Agency,’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘regional of2 fices of the Export-Import Bank,’’ after ‘‘Retired Ex3 ecutives,’’. 

4 SEC. 11. BILATERAL, SUBREGIONAL AND REGIONAL, AND 

5 MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS. 

6 Where applicable, the President shall explore opportu7 nities to negotiate bilateral, subregional, and regional 

8 agreements that encourage trade and eliminate nontariff 

9 barriers to trade between countries, such as negotiating in10 vestor friendly double-taxation treaties and investment pro11 motion agreements. United States negotiators in multilat12 eral forum should take into account the objectives of this 

13 Act. To the extent any such agreements exist between the 

14 United States and an African country, the President shall 

15 ensure that the agreement is being implemented in a man16 ner that maximizes the positive effects for United States 

17 trade, export, and labor interests as well as the economic 

18 development of the countries in Africa. 


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Calendar No. 536 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2215 

[Report No. 112–231] 

A BILL 

To create jobs in the United States by increasing 

for other purposes. percent in real dollar value within 10 years, and United States exports to Africa by at least 200 

NOVEMBER 13, 2012 

Reported with an amendment 


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