II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1900

To amend the African Growth and Opportunity Act to expand certain trade 

benefits to eligible sub-Saharan African countries, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 20, 2003

Mr. LUGAR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL

To amend the African Growth and Opportunity Act to expand certain trade benefits to eligible sub-Saharan African countries, 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 ‘‘United States-Africa 

5 Partnership Act of 2003’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the African Growth and Opportunity Act (in 

9 this section referred to as ‘‘the Act’’) has helped to 

10 spur economic growth and bolster economic reforms 
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1 in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa and has fos2 tered stronger economic ties between the countries of 

3 sub-Saharan Africa and the United States; as a re4 sult, exports from the United States to sub-Saharan 

5 Africa reached record levels after the enactment of 

6 the Act, while exports from sub-Saharan Africa to 

7 the United States have increased considerably; 

8 (2) the Act’s eligibility requirements have rein9 forced democratic values and the rule of law, and 

10 have strengthened adherence to core labor standards 

11 in eligible sub-Saharan African countries; 

12 (3) the Act has helped to bring about substan13 tial increases in foreign investment in sub-Saharan 

14 Africa, especially in the textile and apparel sectors, 

15 where tens of thousands of new jobs have been cre16 ated; 

17 (4) as a result of the Agreement on Textiles 

18 and Apparel of the World Trade Organization, under 

19 which quotas maintained by WTO member countries 

20 on textile and apparel products end on January 1, 

21 2005, sub-Saharan Africa’s textile and apparel in22 dustry will be severely challenged by countries whose 

23 industries are more developed and have greater ca24 pacity, economies of scale, and better infrastructure; 
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1 (5) the underdeveloped physical and financial 

2 infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa continues to 

3 discourage investment in the region; and 

4 (6) regional integration establishes a foundation 

5 on which sub-Saharan African countries can coordi6 nate and pursue policies grounded in African inter7 ests and history to achieve sustainable development.

8 TITLE I—TRADE BENEFITS 

9 SEC. 101. ENHANCED BENEFITS UNDER GENERALIZED SYS10 TEM OF PREFERENCES. 

11 (a) REMOVAL OF IMPORT SENSITIVITY REQUIRE12 MENT.—Section 506A(b)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 

13 U.S.C. 2466a(b)(1)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall provide 

15 duty-free treatment for any article described in sec16 tion 503(b)(1)(B) through (G) that is the growth, 

17 product, or manufacture of a beneficiary sub-Saha18 ran African country described in subsection (a).’’. 

19 (b) TERMINATION DATE.—Section 506B of the 

20 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2466b) is amended by strik21 ing ‘‘2008’’ and inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

22 SEC. 102. APPAREL TRADE BENEFITS. 

23 (a) PRODUCTS COVERED.—Section 112(b) of the Af24 rican Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721(b)) 

25 is amended—
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1 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) APPAREL ARTICLES ASSEMBLED IN BENE4 FICIARY SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES.—Ap5 parel articles sewn or otherwise assembled in one or 

6 more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries for 

7 which classification under the Harmonized Tariff 

8 Schedule of the United States is determined by a 

9 component which is—

10 ‘‘(A) formed from fabrics formed and cut 

11 in the United States, from yarns formed in the 

12 United States (including fabrics not formed 

13 from yarns, if such fabrics are classifiable 

14 under heading 5602 or 5603 of the Harmonized 

15 Tariff Schedule of the United States and are 

16 formed and cut in the United States); 

17 ‘‘(B) knit-to-shape in the United States 

18 from yarns formed in the United States; 

19 ‘‘(C) formed from fabrics formed in the 

20 United States, from yarns formed in the United 

21 States (including fabrics not formed from 

22 yarns, if such fabrics are classifiable under 

23 heading 5602 or 5603 of the Harmonized Tar24 iff Schedule of the United States and are 

25 formed in the United States) and cut in one or
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1 more beneficiary sub-Saharan African coun2 tries; 

3 ‘‘(D) formed from fabrics formed in one or 

4 more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries 

5 from yarns originating either in the United 

6 States or in one or more beneficiary sub-Saha7 ran African countries (including fabrics not 

8 formed from yarns, if such fabrics are classifi9 able under heading 5602 or 5603 of the Har10 monized Tariff Schedule of the United States 

11 and are formed and cut in one or more bene12 ficiary sub-Saharan African countries), without 

13 regard to where the fabric is cut; 

14 ‘‘(E) knit-to-shape in one or more bene15 ficiary sub-Saharan African countries from 

16 yarns originating either in the United States or 

17 one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African 

18 countries; or 

19 ‘‘(F)(i) cut in the United States and one 

20 or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African coun21 tries from fabric formed in the United States 

22 from yarns formed in the United States; 

23 ‘‘(ii) knit-to-shape in the United States 

24 and one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan Afri-
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1 can countries from yarns formed in the United 

2 States; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) both cut as described in clause (i) 

4 and knit-to-shape as described in clause (ii) (in5 cluding from fabrics not formed from yarns, if 

6 such fabrics are classifiable under heading 5602 

7 or 5603 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 

8 the United States). 

9 ‘‘(2) APPAREL ARTICLES FROM NONORIGI10 NATING FABRIC OR YARN.—Apparel articles that are 

11 both cut (or knit-to-shape) and sewn or otherwise 

12 assembled in one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan 

13 African countries—

14 ‘‘(A) from fabric or yarn which need not be 

15 originating under General Note 12(t) of the 

16 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 

17 States for the apparel article to qualify as origi18 nating under that Note; or 

19 ‘‘(B) from fabric or yarn which is not com20 mercially available and which the President pro21 claims as eligible for use under this paragraph 

22 without regard to where the fabric or yarn is 

23 formed pursuant to the procedures set forth in 

24 paragraph (5). 
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1 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR LESSER DEVELOPED

2 COUNTRIES.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Preferential treatment 

4 under paragraphs (1)(D) and (1)(E) shall be 

5 extended through September 30, 2008, for ap6 parel articles assembled in one or more lesser 

7 developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African 

8 countries regardless of the country of origin of 

9 the yarn or fabric used to make such apparel 

10 articles. 

11 ‘‘(B) LESSER DEVELOPED BENEFICIARY

12 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRY.—For pur13 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘lesser devel14 oped beneficiary sub-Saharan African country’ 

15 means—

16 ‘‘(i) a beneficiary sub-Saharan African 

17 country that had a per capita gross na18 tional product of less than $1,500 a year 

19 in 1998, as measured by the International 

20 Bank for Reconstruction and Development; 

21 ‘‘(ii) Botswana; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) Namibia.’’; 

23 (2) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the 

24 following: 
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1 ‘‘(5) PROCEDURES FOR DESIGNATING FABRICS

2 OR YARNS ELIGIBLE UNDER PARAGRAPH (2)(B).—At 

3 the request of any interested party and subject to 

4 the following requirements, the President is author5 ized to proclaim fabrics or yarns as not commercially 

6 available and thus eligible for use in the production 

7 of cut components or knit-to-shape components de8 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) if—

9 ‘‘(A) the President determines that such 

10 yarns or fabrics cannot be supplied by the do11 mestic industry in commercial quantities in a 

12 timely manner; 

13 ‘‘(B) the President has obtained advice re14 garding the proposed action from the appro15 priate advisory committee established under 

16 section 2155 of this title and the United States 

17 International Trade Commission; 

18 ‘‘(C) within 60 calendar days after the re19 quest, the President has submitted a report to 

20 the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

21 House of Representatives and the Committee 

22 on Finance of the Senate that sets forth—

23 ‘‘(i) the action proposed to be pro24 claimed and the reasons for such action; 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) the advice obtained under sub2 paragraph (B); 

3 ‘‘(D) a period of 60 calendar days, begin4 ning with the first day on which the President 

5 has met the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) 

6 of subparagraph (C), has expired; and 

7 ‘‘(E) the President has consulted with such 

8 committees regarding the proposed action dur9 ing the period referred to in subparagraph 

10 (C).’’; 

11 (3) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(6) HANDLOOMED, HANDMADE, FOLKLORE

14 ARTICLES AND ETHNIC PRINTED FABRICS.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A handloomed, hand16 made, folklore article or an ethnic printed fab17 ric of a beneficiary sub-Saharan African coun18 try or countries that is certified as such by the 

19 competent authority of such beneficiary country 

20 or countries. For purposes of this section, the 

21 President, after consultation with the bene22 ficiary country or countries concerned, shall de23 termine which, if any particular textile and ap24 parel goods of the country (or countries) shall 
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1 be treated as being handloomed, handmade, or 

2 folklore articles or an ethic printed fabric—

3 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR ETHNIC PRINT4 ED FABRIC.—Ethnic printed fabrics qualified 

5 under this paragraph are—

6 ‘‘(i) fabrics containing a selvedge on 

7 both edges, having a width of less than 50 

8 inches, classifiable under the heading 

9 5208.52.30 or 5208.52.40 of the Har10 monized Tariff Schedule of the United 

11 States; 

12 ‘‘(ii) of the type that contains designs, 

13 symbols, and other characteristics of Afri14 can prints— 

15 ‘‘(I) normally produced for and 

16 sold on the indigenous African mar17 ket; and 

18 ‘‘(II) normally sold in Africa by 

19 the piece as opposed to being tailored 

20 into garments before being sold in in21 digenous African markets; 

22 ‘‘(iii) printed, including waxed, in one 

23 or more eligible beneficiary sub-Saharan 

24 countries; and
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1 ‘‘(iv) fabrics wholly formed in the 

2 United States, from yarns wholly formed 

3 in the United States, or from fabric wholly 

4 formed in one or more beneficiary sub-Sa5 haran African country from yarn origi6 nating in either the United States or one 

7 or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African 

8 country.’’; and 

9 (4) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(7) SURGE MECHANISM.—

12 ‘‘(A) IMPORT MONITORING.—The Sec13 retary of Commerce shall monitor imports of 

14 articles to which this paragraph applies on a 

15 monthly basis to determine if there has been a 

16 surge in imports of such articles. In order to 

17 permit public access to preliminary inter18 national trade data and to facilitate the early 

19 identification of potentially disruptive import 

20 surges, the Director of the Office of Manage21 ment and Budget may grant an exception to 

22 the publication dates established for the release 

23 of data on United States international trade in 

24 covered articles, if the Director notifies Con25 gress of the early release of the data. 
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1 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF DAMAGE OR

2 THREAT THEREOF.—Whenever the Secretary of 

3 Commerce determines, based on the data de4 scribed in subparagraph (A), or pursuant to a 

5 written request made by an interested party, 

6 that there has been a surge in imports of an ar7 ticle to which this paragraph applies from a 

8 beneficiary sub-Saharan African country, the 

9 Secretary shall determine whether such article 

10 from such country is being imported in such in11 creased quantities as to cause serious damage, 

12 or threat thereof, to the domestic industry pro13 ducing a like or directly competitive article. If 

14 the Secretary’s determination is affirmative, the 

15 President shall suspend the duty-free treatment 

16 provided for such article under this paragraph. 

17 If the inquiry is initiated at the request of an 

18 interested party, the Secretary shall make the 

19 determination within 60 days after the date of 

20 the request. 

21 ‘‘(C) FACTORS TO CONSIDER.—In deter22 mining whether a domestic industry has been 

23 seriously damaged, or is threatened with serious 

24 damage, the Secretary shall examine the effect 

25 of the imports on relevant economic indicators 
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1 such as domestic production, sales, market 

2 share, capacity utilization, inventories, employ3 ment, profits, exports, prices, and investment. 

4 ‘‘(D) PROCEDURE.—

5 ‘‘(i) INITIATION.—The Secretary of 

6 Commerce shall initiate an inquiry within 

7 10 days after receiving a written request 

8 and supporting information for an inquiry 

9 from an interested party. Notice of initi10 ation of an inquiry shall be published in 

11 the Federal Register. 

12 ‘‘(ii) PARTICIPATION BY INTERESTED

13 PARTIES.—The Secretary of Commerce 

14 shall establish procedures to ensure partici15 pation in the inquiry by interested parties. 

16 ‘‘(iii) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.—

17 The Secretary shall publish the determina18 tion described in subparagraph (B) in the 

19 Federal Register. 

20 ‘‘(iv) INFORMATION AVAILABLE.—If 

21 relevant information is not available on the 

22 record or any party withholds information 

23 that has been requested by the Secretary, 

24 the Secretary shall make the determination 

25 on the basis of the facts available. When 
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1 the Secretary relies on information sub2 mitted in the inquiry as facts available, the 

3 Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, 

4 corroborate the information from inde5 pendent sources that are reasonably avail6 able to the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(v) INTERESTED PARTY.—For pur8 poses of this subparagraph, the term ‘in9 terested party’ means any producer of a 

10 like or directly competitive article, a cer11 tified union or recognized union or group 

12 of workers which is representative of an in13 dustry engaged in the manufacture, pro14 duction, or sale in the United States of a 

15 like or directly competitive article, a trade 

16 or business association representing pro17 ducers or sellers of like or directly competi18 tive articles, producers engaged in the pro19 duction of essential inputs for like or di20 rectly competitive articles, a certified union 

21 or group of workers which is representative 

22 of an industry engaged in the manufac23 ture, production, or sale of essential inputs 

24 for the like or directly competitive article, 

25 or a trade or business association rep-
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1 resenting companies engaged in the manu2 facture, production, or sale of such essen3 tial inputs.’’. 

4 (b) FINDINGS AND TRIMMINGS.—Section 112 of the 

5 African Grown and Opportunity Act is amended—

6 (1) by striking subsection (d) and redesignating 

7 subsections (e) and (f) as subsections (d) and (e), 

8 respectively; and 

9 (2) in subsection (e), as redesignated, by strik10 ing ‘‘2008’’ and inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3108 of 

12 the Trade Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–210; 116 Stat. 

13 1038) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’; and 

15 (2) by striking subsection (b). 

16 TITLE II—ENHANCING TRADE IN 

17 AGRICULTURE 

18 SEC. 201. AGRICULTURAL TRADE ASSISTANCE. 

19 Section 130 of the African Growth and Opportunity 

20 Act (19 U.S.C. 3740) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(c) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.—The Secretary of Ag23 riculture, based on results of the study described in sub24 section (a), shall develop a comprehensive plan to imple-
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1 ment public sector policies and incentives for the private 

2 sector to—

3 ‘‘(1) identify current United States agricultural 

4 imports with the potential for competitive production 

5 for export in sub-Saharan Africa; 

6 ‘‘(2) identify current agricultural exports from 

7 sub-Saharan Africa; 

8 ‘‘(3) identify the primary agricultural export 

9 products under this Act; 

10 ‘‘(4) analyze critical constraints to United 

11 States-Africa agricultural trade; 

12 ‘‘(5) identify potential value-added and proc13 essed agricultural products that can be exported 

14 from sub-Saharan Africa to the United States under 

15 this Act; 

16 ‘‘(6) analyze critical constraints to producing 

17 and exporting to the United States such value-added 

18 and processed agricultural products; 

19 ‘‘(7) develop a strategy, with African national 

20 public and private sectors, and regional organiza21 tions, for removing or ameliorating the critical con22 straints identified; 

23 ‘‘(8) develop a strategy for increasing invest24 ments to diversify and add value to agricultural ex25 ports under this Act; and
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1 ‘‘(9) develop a strategy for increasing the 

2 tradable volume of agricultural exports from eligible 

3 sub-Saharan African countries. 

4 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—The results of the study and details 

5 of the comprehensive plan shall be reported in the annual 

6 United States Trade Representative African Growth and 

7 Opportunity Act Report.’’. 

8 SEC. 202. EXECUTIVE BRANCH INITIATIVES. 

9 Section 122(b)(3) of the African Growth and Oppor10 tunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3732(b)(3)) is amended to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘(3) addressing critical agricultural policy 

13 issues, in part, by developing a comprehensive plan, 

14 which shall be submitted to the Congress, to—

15 ‘‘(A) increase market liberalization; 

16 ‘‘(B) develop agricultural exports; 

17 ‘‘(C) increase investment in processing and 

18 transporting commodities; 

19 ‘‘(D) develop and increase capacity by 

20 working with farmers and farmer groups; 

21 ‘‘(E) increase access to vital market infor22 mation, including prices, product quality and 

23 demand, inputs quality and costs, and customs 

24 rules and regulations, for farmers and farmer 
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1 groups and cooperatives and for relevant gov2 ernment ministries; and 

3 ‘‘(F) enable public-private partnerships in 

4 eligible sub-Saharan African countries to pro5 mote trade in agricultural products between the 

6 United States and eligible sub-Saharan African 

7 countries.’’. 

8 SEC. 203. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

9 (a) EVALUATION.—The President and the Secretary 

10 of Agriculture shall direct the Animal and Plant Health 

11 Inspection Service (APHIS) to evaluate methods for train12 ing African agricultural producers and for implementing 

13 capacity building programs to help the producers meet 

14 United States food safety standards. 

15 (b) APHIS PERSONNEL.—The President shall des16 ignate 20 full-time personnel of APHIS for technical as17 sistance. 

18 (1) COUNTRIES OF DESIGNATION.—Such per19 sonnel shall be designated to at least 10 African 

20 Growth and Opportunity Act eligible countries iden21 tified by the President, after consultation with the 

22 Secretary of Agriculture and the APHIS Adminis23 trator, as having the greatest potential to increase 

24 marketable exports of agricultural products to the 
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1 United States and the greatest need for technical as2 sistance. 

3 (2) ASSISTANCE TO BE PROVIDED.—Such Per4 sonnel shall provide technical training and capacity 

5 building in meeting phytosanitary standards in 

6 planting, cultivating, harvesting, and processing ag7 ricultural products for export, with particular atten8 tion to institutions serving smallholder producers, 

9 small-scale rural businesses and cooperatives; and 

10 strengthened agricultural research and extension ca11 pacity to disseminate relevant information on pests 

12 and diseases to African smallholder farmers, as well 

13 as cost-efficient and environmentally sound solu14 tions. 

15 TITLE III—INCREASING 

16 CERTAINTIES IN INVESTMENT 

17 SEC. 301. DESIGNATION OF ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES. 

18 Section 104 of the African Growth and Opportunity 

19 Act is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(b) CONTINUING COMPLIANCE.—If the President 

22 determines that an eligible sub-Saharan African country 

23 no longer meets the criteria set forth in subsection (a), 

24 including by failing to maintain the institutions described 

25 in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of subsection (a)(1), 
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1 the President may terminate the designation of the coun2 try made pursuant to subsection (a) if—

3 ‘‘(1) the President transmits to the Congress 

4 notice of the proposed designation; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the Congress, within 90 days after receiv6 ing such notice, does not enact a law prohibiting 

7 such termination.’’. 

8 SEC. 302. OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION. 

9 (a) OPIC INITIATIVES.—Section 123(b)(4) of the Af10 rican Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3733(b)(4)) 

11 is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(4) EMPHASIS.—The Corporation shall ensure 

13 that the funds are used to provide support in par14 ticular to women entrepreneurs and to innovative in15 vestments that expand opportunities for women and 

16 maximize employment opportunities for poor individ17 uals, in part by including a focus on investments in 

18 agribusiness, electronics, textiles, and apparel.’’. 

19 (b) EXCEPTION TO RESTRICTIONS ON OPIC ACTIVI20 TIES.—Section 231 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

21 (22 U.S.C. 2191) is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following flush sentence: ‘‘The prohibitions set forth in 

23 subsections (k)(1) and (l), and the requirement set forth 

24 in subsection (k)(2), shall not apply to any contract of 

25 insurance or reinsurance, guaranty, or agreement to pro-
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1 vide financing for an eligible investor’s proposed invest2 ment if the investment is in country designated as a bene3 ficiary sub-Saharan African country under section 

4 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

5 2466a(a)(1)).’’. 

6 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con7 gress that—

8 (1) the Overseas Private Investment Corpora9 tion should be commended for creating the African 

10 Millennium Fund, which will encourage vital invest11 ments in the infrastructure of eligible sub-Saharan 

12 African countries; and 

13 (2) it is critically important that the Fund be 

14 fully subscribed and disbursing funds as soon as 

15 possible. 

16 SEC. 303. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK. 

17 Section 2(b)(1)(B) of the Export-Import Bank Act 

18 of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635(b)(1)(B) is amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(B)’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(ii) The Bank shall implement such regulations and 

22 procedures as may be appropriate to ensure that full con23 sideration is given to the extent to which any loan, guar24 antee, insurance, extension of credit, or participation in 

25 an extension of credit is likely to have a positive effect
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1 on industries, including the textile and apparel industry 

2 and agricultural production, in countries designated as 

3 beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries under section 

4 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

5 2466a(a)(1)). To carry out the purposes of this clause, 

6 the Bank shall work with the Administrator of the United 

7 States Agency for International Development, the United 

8 States Trade Representative, and the Secretary of Com9 merce in identifying opportunities to use the resources of 

10 the Bank to encourage industrial and agricultural develop11 ment in such beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries.’’. 

12 SEC. 304. THE FOREIGN AGRICULTURE SERVICE. 

13 The Secretary of Agriculture shall direct the Foreign 

14 Agriculture Service (FAS) to work with national African 

15 agricultural organizations to identify agricultural equip16 ment and supply needs and implement programs that 

17 strengthen the ability of members of African agricultural 

18 organizations to fulfill these needs in conjunction with ex19 port credit guarantee programs. 

20 SEC. 305. TAX POLICY. 

21 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

22 Congress that the United States Agency for International 

23 Development, in cooperation with the United States De24 partment of the Treasury, the International Monetary 

25 Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and De-
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1 velopment, and the African Development Bank, should ex2 ercise the authorities it has to continue to provide tech3 nical assistance to eligible sub-Saharan African countries 

4 in the tax policy and revenue administration. 

5 (b) DOUBLE TAXATION TREATIES WITH ELIGIBLE

6 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES.—In order to en7 courage investment in and certainty in the movement of 

8 capital, the Secretary of the Treasury shall seek negotia9 tions with those eligible sub-Saharan African countries 

10 which the Secretary determines will benefit most from an 

11 income tax treaty with the United States. 

12 SEC. 306. DEVELOPMENT STUDY AND CAPACITY BUILDING. 

13 (a) REPORTS.—The Administrator of the United 

14 States Agency for International Development shall, by not 

15 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

16 Act, conduct a study on each eligible sub-Saharan African 

17 country, that—

18 (1) identifies sectors of the economy of that 

19 country with the greatest potential for growth, in20 cluding through export sales; 

21 (2) identifies barriers, both domestically and 

22 internationally, that are impeding growth in such 

23 sectors; and 

24 (3) makes recommendations on how the United 

25 States Government and the private sector can pro-
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1 vide technical assistance to that country to assist in 

2 dismantling such barriers and in promoting invest3 ment in such sectors. 

4 (b) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Presi5 dent shall disseminate information in each study con6 ducted under subsection (a) to the appropriate United 

7 States agencies for the purpose of implementing rec8 ommendations on the provision of technical assistance and 

9 in identifying opportunities for United States investors, 

10 businesses, and farmers. 

11 TITLE IV—TRANSPORTATION 

12 AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

13 SEC. 401. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF INFRASTRUCTURE. 

14 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

15 (1) In order to increase exports from, and trade 

16 among, eligible sub-Saharan African countries, 

17 transportation systems in those countries must be 

18 improved to increase transport efficiencies and lower 

19 transport costs. 

20 (2) Vibrant economic growth requires a devel21 oped telecommunication and energy infrastructure. 

22 (3) Sub-Saharan Africa is rich in exportable ag23 ricultural goods, but development of this industry re24 mains stymied because of an underdeveloped infra25 structure. 
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1 (b) ACTION BY THE PRESIDENT.—The President 

2 shall develop and implement policies to encourage, and as3 sist with, investment in eligible sub-Saharan African coun4 tries in the following: 

5 (1) Infrastructure projects that support, in par6 ticular, development of land transport, road, railroad 

7 networks, river networks, and ports, and the contin8 ued upgrading and liberalization of the energy and 

9 telecommunications sectors. 

10 (2) Increased coordination between various 

11 transportation sectors in the United States and such 

12 countries to reduce transit times and freight costs. 

13 (3) The establishment and expansion of modern 

14 information and communication technologies and 

15 practices to improve the ability of citizens to re16 search and disseminate information relating to, 

17 among other things, the economy, education, trade, 

18 health, agriculture, the environment, and the media. 

19 (4) Increased coordination between chambers of 

20 commerce, businesses, freight forwarders, customs 

21 brokers, and others involved in consolidating and 

22 moving freight. 

23 (5) Joint negotiations between shipping compa24 nies and transportation officials to increase the fre-
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1 quency and capacity of direct shipping and flights 

2 between Africa and America. 

3 SEC. 402. TRANSPORTATION. 

4 In order to increase trade flows and the efficiency of 

5 transportation links between eligible sub-Saharan African 

6 countries and the United States, the Administrator of the 

7 United States Agency for International Development shall 

8 foster port-to-port and airport-to-airport relationships. 

9 These relationships should facilitate—

10 (1) increased coordination between ports and 

11 airports in the United States and such countries in 

12 order to reduce time in transit; and 

13 (2) interaction between technical staff from 

14 ports and airports in the United States and such 

15 countries in order to increase efficiency and safety 

16 procedures and protocols. 

17 TITLE V—CONSULTATIONS 

18 SEC. 501. TASK FORCE. 

19 The President shall assemble an interagency 

20 taskforce composed of representatives from the Office of 

21 the United States Trade Representative, the Department 

22 of Commerce, the Department of State, the United States 

23 Agency for International Development, the Department of 

24 Treasury, and the Department of Agriculture to facilitate 

25 the goals and objectives of this Act and maintain ongoing 
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1 discussions with African trade and agriculture ministries 

2 and private sector organizations on issues of mutual con3 cern, including regional and international trade concerns 

4 and World Trade Organization issues. 

5 SEC. 502. AGOA FORUMS. 

6 In order to ensure that nongovernmental organiza7 tions and the private sector continue to host the annual 

8 meetings described in section 105(c)(2) of the African 

9 Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3704(c)(2)), the 

10 United States Trade Representative is authorized to pro11 vide grants in each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2015, 

12 in equal amounts to United States nongovernmental orga13 nizations referred to in section 105(c)(2) of that Act and 

14 to United States representatives of the private sector re15 ferred to in section 105(c)(2)(B) of that Act, for the pur16 pose of hosting such meetings.

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