IB 

Union Calendar No. 285

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4103

[Report No. 108–501] 

To extend and modify the trade benefits under the African Growth and 

Opportunity Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 1, 2004

Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. CRANE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. 

ROYCE, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. DUNN, Mr. 

JEFFERSON, Mr. WELLER, Mr. BRADY of Texas, and Mr. PAYNE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means 

MAY 19, 2004

Additional sponsors: Mr. LEVIN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of 

Texas, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. BELL, Mr. SHAW, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. 

ENGLISH, Mr. HULSHOF, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. LEWIS of 

Kentucky, Mr. WEINER, and Mr. OWENS

MAY 19, 2004 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 1, 2004] 

A BILL

To extend and modify the trade benefits under the African 

Growth and Opportunity Act.
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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 ‘‘AGOA Acceleration Act 

5 of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The African Growth and Opportunity Act 

9 (in this section and section 3 referred to as ‘‘the Act’’) 

10 has helped to spur economic growth and bolster eco11 nomic reforms in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa 

12 and has fostered stronger economic ties between the 

13 countries of sub-Saharan Africa and the United 

14 States; as a result, exports from the United States to 

15 sub-Saharan Africa reached record levels after the en16 actment of the Act, while exports from sub-Saharan 

17 Africa to the United States have increased consider18 ably. 

19 (2) The Act’s eligibility requirements have rein20 forced democratic values and the rule of law, and 

21 have strengthened adherence to internationally recog22 nized worker rights in eligible sub-Saharan African 

23 countries. 

24 (3) The Act has helped to bring about substantial 

25 increases in foreign investment in sub-Saharan Afri-
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1 ca, especially in the textile and apparel sectors, where 

2 tens of thousands of new jobs have been created. 

3 (4) As a result of the Agreement on Textiles and 

4 Apparel of the World Trade Organization, under 

5 which quotas maintained by WTO member countries 

6 on textile and apparel products end on January 1, 

7 2005, sub-Saharan Africa’s textile and apparel indus8 try will be severely challenged by countries whose in9 dustries are more developed and have greater capac10 ity, economies of scale, and better infrastructure. 

11 (5) The underdeveloped physical and financial 

12 infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa continues to 

13 discourage investment in the region. 

14 (6) Regional integration establishes a foundation 

15 on which sub-Saharan African countries can coordi16 nate and pursue policies grounded in African inter17 ests and history to achieve sustainable development. 

18 (7) Expanded trade because of the Act has im19 proved fundamental economic conditions within sub20 Saharan Africa. The Act has helped to create jobs in 

21 the poorest region of the world, and most sub-Saharan 

22 African countries have sought to take advantage of the 

23 opportunities provided by the Act. 

24 (8) Agricultural biotechnology holds promise for 

25 helping solve global food security and human health 
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1 crises in Africa and, according to recent studies, has 

2 made contributions to the protection of the environ3 ment by reducing the application of pesticides, reduc4 ing soil erosion, and creating an environment more 

5 hospitable to wildlife. 

6 (9) (A) One of the greatest challenges facing Afri7 can countries continues to be the HIV/AIDS epidemic, 

8 which has infected as many as one out of every four 

9 people in some countries, creating tremendous social, 

10 political, and economic costs. African countries need 

11 continued United States financial and technical as12 sistance to combat this epidemic. 

13 (B) More awareness and involvement by govern14 ments are necessary. Countries like Uganda, recog15 nizing the threat of HIV/AIDS, have boldly attacked 

16 it through a combination of education, public aware17 ness, enhanced medical infrastructure and resources, 

18 and greater access to medical treatment. An effective 

19 HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment strategy in20 volves all of these steps. 

21 (10) African countries continue to need trade ca22 pacity assistance to establish viable economic capac23 ity, a well-grounded rule of law, and efficient govern24 ment practices. 
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1 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

2 The Congress supports—

3 (1) a continued commitment to increase trade 

4 between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa 

5 and increase investment in sub-Saharan Africa to the 

6 benefit of workers, businesses, and farmers in the 

7 United States and in sub-Saharan Africa, including 

8 by developing innovative approaches to encourage de9 velopment and investment in sub-Saharan Africa; 

10 (2) a reduction of tariff and nontariff barriers 

11 and other obstacles to trade between the countries of 

12 sub-Saharan Africa and the United States, with par13 ticular emphasis on reducing barriers to trade in 

14 emerging sectors of the economy that have the greatest 

15 potential for development; 

16 (3) development of sub-Saharan Africa’s physical 

17 and financial infrastructure; 

18 (4) international efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, ma19 laria, tuberculosis, other infectious diseases, and seri20 ous public health problems; 

21 (5) many of the aims of the New Partnership for 

22 African Development (NEPAD), which include—

23 (A) reducing poverty and increasing eco24 nomic growth; 

25 (B) promoting peace, democracy, security, 

26 and human rights;
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1 (C) promoting African integration by deep2 ening linkages between African countries and by 

3 accelerating Africa’s economic and political inte4 gration into the rest of the world; 

5 (D) attracting investment, debt relief, and 

6 development assistance; 

7 (E) promoting trade and economic diver8 sification; 

9 (F) broadening global market access for 

10 United States and African exports; 

11 (G) improving transparency, good govern12 ance, and political accountability; 

13 (H) expanding access to social services, edu14 cation, and health services with a high priority 

15 given to addressing HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuber16 culosis, other infectious diseases, and other public 

17 health problems; 

18 (I) promoting the role of women in social 

19 and economic development by reinforcing edu20 cation and training and by assuring their par21 ticipation in political and economic arenas; and 

22 (J) building the capacity of governments in 

23 sub-Saharan Africa to set and enforce a legal 

24 framework, as well as to enforce the rule of law; 
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1 (6) negotiation of reciprocal trade agreements be2 tween the United States and sub-Saharan African 

3 countries, with the overall goal of expanding trade 

4 across all of sub-Saharan Africa; 

5 (7) the President seeking to negotiate, with inter6 ested eligible sub-Saharan African countries, bilateral 

7 trade agreements that provide investment opportuni8 ties, in accordance with section 2102(b)(3) of the 

9 Trade Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 3802(b)(3)); 

10 (8) efforts by the President to negotiate with the 

11 member countries of the Southern African Customs 

12 Union in order to provide the opportunity to deepen 

13 and make permanent the benefits of the Act while giv14 ing the United States access to the markets of these 

15 African countries for United States goods and serv16 ices, by reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers, 

17 strengthening intellectual property protection, im18 proving transparency, establishing general dispute 

19 settlement mechanisms, and investor-state and state20 to-state dispute settlement mechanisms in investment; 

21 (9) a comprehensive and ambitious trade agree22 ment with the Southern African Customs Union, cov23 ering all products and sectors, in order to mature the 

24 economic relationship between sub-Saharan African 

25 countries and the United States and because such an 
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1 agreement would deepen United States economic and 

2 political ties to the region, lend momentum to United 

3 States development efforts, encourage greater United 

4 States investment, and promote regional integration 

5 and economic growth; 

6 (10) regional integration among sub-Saharan 

7 African countries and business partnerships between 

8 United States and African firms; and 

9 (11) economic diversification in sub-Saharan Af10 rican countries and expansion of trade beyond textiles 

11 and apparel. 

12 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON RECIPROCITY AND RE13 GIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION. 

14 It is the sense of the Congress that—

15 (1) the preferential market access opportunities 

16 for eligible sub-Saharan African countries will be 

17 complemented and enhanced if those countries are im18 plementing actively and fully, consistent with any re19 maining applicable phase-in periods, their obligations 

20 under the World Trade Organization, including obli21 gations under the Agreement on Trade-Related As22 pects of Intellectual Property, the Agreement on the 

23 Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, 

24 and the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment 

25 Measures, as well as the other agreements described in 
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1 section 101(d) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act 

2 (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)); 

3 (2) eligible sub-Saharan African countries should 

4 participate in and support mutual trade liberaliza5 tion in ongoing negotiations under the auspices of the 

6 World Trade Organization, including by making re7 ciprocal commitments with respect to improving mar8 ket access for industrial and agricultural goods, and 

9 for services, recognizing that such commitments may 

10 need to reflect special and differential treatment for 

11 developing countries; 

12 (3) some of the most pernicious trade barriers 

13 against exports by developing countries are the trade 

14 barriers maintained by other developing countries; 

15 therefore, eligible sub-Saharan African countries will 

16 benefit from the reduction of trade barriers in other 

17 developing countries, especially in developing coun18 tries that represent some of the greatest potential 

19 markets for African goods and services; and 

20 (4) all countries should make sanitary and 

21 phytosanitary decisions on the basis of sound science. 

22 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERPRETATION OF TEX23 TILE AND APPAREL PROVISIONS OF AGOA. 

24 It is the sense of the Congress that the executive branch, 

25 particularly the Committee for the Implementation of Tex-
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1 tile Agreements (CITA), the Bureau of Customs and Border 

2 Protection of the Department of Homeland Security, and 

3 the Department of Commerce, should interpret, implement, 

4 and enforce the provisions of section 112 of the African 

5 Growth and Opportunity Act, relating to preferential treat6 ment of textile and apparel articles, broadly in order to 

7 expand trade by maximizing opportunities for imports of 

8 such articles from eligible sub-Saharan African countries. 

9 SEC. 6. DEFINITION. 

10 In this Act, the term ‘‘eligible sub-Saharan African 

11 country’’ means an eligible sub-Saharan African country 

12 under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. 

13 SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF AFRICAN GROWTH AND OPPOR14 TUNITY ACT. 

15 (a) GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES.—

16 (1) EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—Section 506B of 

17 the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2466b) is amended 

18 by striking ‘‘2008’’ and inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

19 (2) INPUTS FROM FORMER BENEFICIARY COUN20 TRIES.—Section 506A of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 

21 U.S.C. 2466a) is amended—

22 (A) in subsection (b)(2)(B), by inserting ‘‘or 

23 former beneficiary sub-Saharan African coun24 tries’’ after ‘‘countries’’; and 

25 (B) in subsection (c)—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘title, the terms’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘title—

3 ‘‘(1) the terms’’; and 

4 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) the term ‘former beneficiary sub-Saharan 

6 African country’ means a country that, after being 

7 designated as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African 

8 country under the African Growth and Opportunity 

9 Act, ceased to be designated as such a country by rea10 son of its entering into a free trade agreement with 

11 the United States.’’. 

12 (b) APPAREL ARTICLES.—(1) Section 112(b)(1) of the 

13 African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 

14 3721(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(including’’ and in15 serting ‘‘or both (including’’. 

16 (2) Section 112(b)(3) of the African Growth and Op17 portunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721 (b)(3)) is amended—

18 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)—

19 (i) by striking ‘‘either in the United States 

20 or one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African 

21 countries’’ each place it appears and inserting 

22 ‘‘in the United States or one or more beneficiary 

23 sub-Saharan African countries or former bene24 ficiary sub-Saharan African countries, or both’’; 

25 and
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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘subject to the following:’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘whether or not the apparel arti3 cles are also made from any of the fabrics, fabric 

4 components formed, or components knit-to-shape 

5 described in paragraph (1) or (2) (unless the ap6 parel articles are made exclusively from any of 

7 the fabrics, fabric components formed, or compo8 nents knit-to-shape described in paragraph (1) 

9 or (2)), subject to the following:’’; and 

10 (B) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and 

11 inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) LIMITATIONS ON BENEFITS.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Preferential treat14 ment under this paragraph shall be ex15 tended in the 1-year period beginning Octo16 ber 1, 2003, and in each of the 11 suc17 ceeding 1-year periods, to imports of ap18 parel articles in an amount not to exceed 

19 the applicable percentage of the aggregate 

20 square meter equivalents of all apparel arti21 cles imported into the United States in the 

22 preceding 12-month period for which data 

23 are available. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For 

2 purposes of this subparagraph, the term 

3 ‘applicable percentage’ means—

4 ‘‘(I) 4.747 percent for the 1-year 

5 period beginning October 1, 2003, in6 creased in each of the 5 succeeding 1-

7 year periods by equal increments, so 

8 that for the 1-year period beginning 

9 October 1, 2007, the applicable per10 centage does not exceed 7 percent; and 

11 ‘‘(II) for each succeeding 1-year 

12 period until September 30, 2015, not 

13 to exceed 7 percent. 

14 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR LESSER DEVEL15 OPED COUNTRIES.—

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Preferential treat17 ment under this paragraph shall be ex18 tended though September 30, 2007, for ap19 parel articles wholly assembled, or knit-to20 shape and wholly assembled, or both, in one 

21 or more lesser developed beneficiary sub-Sa22 haran African countries, regardless of the 

23 country of origin of the fabric or the yarn 

24 used to make such articles, in an amount 

25 not to exceed the applicable percentage of 
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1 the aggregate square meter equivalents of all 

2 apparel articles imported into the United 

3 States in the preceding 12-month period for 

4 which data are available. 

5 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For 

6 purposes of the subparagraph, the term ‘ap7 plicable percentage’ means—

8 ‘‘(I) 2.3571 percent for the 1-year 

9 period beginning October 1, 2003; 

10 ‘‘(II) 2.6428 percent for the 1-year 

11 period beginning October 1, 2004; 

12 ‘‘(III) 2.9285 percent for the 1-

13 year period beginning October 1, 2005; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(IV) 1.6071 percent for the 1-

16 year period beginning October 1, 2006. 

17 ‘‘(iii) LESSER DEVELOPED BENE18 FICIARY SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRY.—

19 For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 

20 ‘lesser developed beneficiary sub-Saharan 

21 African country’ means—

22 ‘‘(I) a beneficiary sub-Saharan 

23 African country that had a per capita 

24 gross national product of less than 

25 $1,500 in 1998, as measured by the 
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1 International Bank for Reconstruction 

2 and Development; 

3 ‘‘(II) Botswana; and 

4 ‘‘(III) Namibia.’’. 

5 (3) Section 112(b)(5)(A) of the African Growth and 

6 Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721(b)(5)(A)) is amended to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Apparel articles that 

9 are both cut (or knit-to-shape) and sewn or oth10 erwise assembled in one or more beneficiary sub11 Saharan African countries, to the extent that ap12 parel articles of such fabrics or yarns would be 

13 eligible for preferential treatment, without regard 

14 to the source of the fabrics or yarns, under 

15 Annex 401 to the NAFTA.’’. 

16 (c) HANDLOOMED, HANDMADE, FOLKLORE ARTICLES

17 AND ETHNIC PRINTED FABRICS.—Section 112(b)(6) of the 

18 African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 

19 3721(b)(6)) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(6) HANDLOOMED, HANDMADE, FOLKLORE AR21 TICLES AND ETHNIC PRINTED FABRICS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A handloomed, hand23 made, folklore article or an ethnic printed fabric 

24 of a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country or 

25 countries that is certified as such by the com-
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1 petent authority of such beneficiary country or 

2 countries. For purposes of this section, the Presi3 dent, after consultation with the beneficiary sub4 Saharan African country or countries concerned, 

5 shall determine which, if any, particular textile 

6 and apparel goods of the country (or countries) 

7 shall be treated as being handloomed, handmade, 

8 or folklore articles or an ethic printed fabric. 

9 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR ETHNIC PRINTED

10 FABRIC.—Ethnic printed fabrics qualified under 

11 this paragraph are—

12 ‘‘(i) fabrics containing a selvedge on 

13 both edges, having a width of less than 50 

14 inches, classifiable under subheading 

15 5208.52.30 or 5208.52.40 of the Harmonized 

16 Tariff Schedule of the United States; 

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

18 symbols, and other characteristics of Afri19 can prints—

20 ‘‘(I) normally produced for and 

21 sold on the indigenous African market; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(II) normally sold in Africa by 

24 the piece as opposed to being tailored
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1 into garments before being sold in in2 digenous African markets; 

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

4 or more eligible beneficiary sub-Saharan 

5 countries; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) fabrics formed in the United 

7 States, from yarns formed in the United 

8 States, or from fabric formed in one or 

9 more beneficiary sub-Saharan African 

10 country from yarn originating in either the 

11 United States or one or more beneficiary 

12 sub-Saharan African countries.’’. 

13 (d) REGIONAL AND U.S. SOURCES.—Section 112(b)(7) 

14 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 

15 3721(b)(7)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or former beneficiary 

16 sub-Saharan African countries’’ after ‘‘and one or more 

17 beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries’’ each place it 

18 appears. 

19 (e) SPECIAL RULES.—

20 (1) CERTAIN COMPONENTS.—Section 112(d) of 

21 the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 

22 3721(d)) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN COMPONENTS.—An article other25 wise eligible for preferential treatment under this sec-
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1 tion will not be ineligible for such treatment because 

2 the article contains—

3 ‘‘(A) any collars or cuffs (cut or knit-to4 shape), 

5 ‘‘(B) drawstrings, 

6 ‘‘(C) shoulder pads or other padding, 

7 ‘‘(D) waistbands, 

8 ‘‘(E) belt attached to the article, 

9 ‘‘(F) straps containing elastic, or 

10 ‘‘(G) elbow patches, 

11 that do not meet the requirements set forth in sub12 section (b), regardless of the country of origin of the 

13 item referred to in the applicable subparagraph of 

14 this paragraph.’’. 

15 (2) DE MINIMIS RULE.—Section 112(d)(2) of the 

16 African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 

17 3721(d)(2)) is amended—

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘or former beneficiary sub19 Saharan African countries’’ after ‘‘countries’’; 

20 and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘7 percent’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘10 percent’’. 

23 (f) DEFINITIONS.—Section 112(e) of the African 

24 Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721(e)) is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(4) FORMER SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUN2 TRY.—The term ‘former sub-Saharan African coun3 try’ means a country that, after being designated as 

4 a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country under this 

5 Act, ceased to be designated as such a beneficiary sub6 Saharan country by reason of its entering into a free 

7 trade agreement with the United States.’’. 

8 SEC. 8. ENTRIES OF CERTAIN APPAREL ARTICLES PURSU9 ANT TO THE AFRICAN GROWTH AND OPPOR10 TUNITY ACT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 514 of the 

12 Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1514) or any other provision 

13 of law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall liquidate or reliq14 uidate as free of duty and free of any quantitative restric15 tions, limitations, or consultation levels entries of articles 

16 described in subsection (d) made on or after October 1, 

17 2000, and before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 (b) REQUESTS.—Liquidation or reliquidation may be 

19 made under subsection (a) with respect to an entry de20 scribed in subsection (d) only if a request therefor is filed 

21 with the Secretary of the Treasury within 90 days after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act and the request con23 tains sufficient information to enable the Secretary to locate 

24 the entry or reconstruct the entry if it cannot be located. 
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1 (c) PAYMENT OF AMOUNTS OWED.—Any amounts 

2 owed by the United States pursuant to the liquidation or 

3 reliquidation of any entry under subsection (a) shall be 

4 paid not later than 180 days after the date of such liquida5 tion or reliquidation. 

6 (d) ENTRIES.—The entries referred to in subsection (a) 

7 are entries of apparel articles that meet the requirements 

8 of section 112(b) of the African Growth and Opportunity 

9 Act, as amended by section 3108 of the Trade Act of 2002 

10 and this Act. 

11 SEC. 9. DEVELOPMENT STUDY AND CAPACITY BUILDING. 

12 (a) REPORTS.—The President shall, by not later than 

13 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, conduct 

14 a study on each eligible sub-Saharan African country, 

15 that—

16 (1) identifies sectors of the economy of that coun17 try with the greatest potential for growth, including 

18 through export sales; 

19 (2) identifies barriers, both domestically and 

20 internationally, that are impeding growth in such 

21 sectors; and 

22 (3) makes recommendations on how the United 

23 States Government and the private sector can provide 

24 technical assistance to that country to assist in dis-
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1 mantling such barriers and in promoting investment 

2 in such sectors. 

3 (b) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The President 

4 shall disseminate information in each study conducted 

5 under subsection (a) to the appropriate United States agen6 cies for the purpose of implementing recommendations on 

7 the provision of technical assistance and in identifying op8 portunities for United States investors, businesses, and 

9 farmers. 

10 SEC. 10. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF INFRASTRUCTURE TO 

11 SUPPORT INCREASING TRADE CAPACITY AND 

12 ECOTOURISM. 

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

14 (1) Ecotourism, which consists of—

15 (A) responsible and sustainable travel and 

16 visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas 

17 in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and 

18 any accompanying cultural features, both past 

19 and present) and animals, including species that 

20 are rare or endangered, 

21 (B) promotion of conservation and provi22 sion for beneficial involvement of local popu23 lations, and 

24 (C) visitation designed to have low negative 

25 impact upon the environment,
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1 is expected to expand 30 percent globally over the next 

2 decade. 

3 (2) Ecotourism will increase trade capacity by 

4 sustaining otherwise unsustainable infrastructure, 

5 such as road, port, water, energy, and telecommuni6 cation development. 

7 (3) According to the United States Department 

8 of State and the United Nations Environment Pro9 gramme, sustainable tourism, such as ecotourism, can 

10 be an important part of the economic development of 

11 a region, especially a region with natural and cul12 tural protected areas. 

13 (4) Sub-Saharan Africa enjoys an international 

14 comparative advantage in ecotourism because it fea15 tures extensive protected areas that host a variety of 

16 ecosystems and traditional cultures that are major at17 tractions for nature-oriented tourism. 

18 (5) National parks and reserves in sub-Saharan 

19 Africa should be considered a basis for regional devel20 opment, involving communities living within and ad21 jacent to them and, given their strong international 

22 recognition, provide an advantage in ecotourism mar23 keting and promotion. 

24 (6) Desert areas in sub-Saharan Africa represent 

25 complex ecotourism attractions, showcasing natural, 
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1 geological, and archaeological features, and nomad 

2 and other cultures and traditions. 

3 (7) Many natural zones in sub-Saharan Africa 

4 cross the political borders of several countries; there5 fore, transboundary cooperation is fundamental for 

6 all types of ecotourism development. 

7 (8) The commercial viability of ecotourism is en8 hanced when small and medium enterprises, particu9 larly microenterprises, successfully engage with the 

10 tourism industry in sub-Saharan Africa. 

11 (9) Adequate capacity building is an essential 

12 component of ecotourism development if local commu13 nities are to be real stakeholders that can sustain an 

14 equitable approach to ecotourism management. 

15 (10) Ecotourism needs to generate local commu16 nity benefits by utilizing sub-Saharan Africa’s nat17 ural heritage, parks, wildlife reserves, and other pro18 tected areas that can play a significant role in en19 couraging local economic development by sourcing 

20 food and other locally produced resources. 

21 (b) ACTION BY THE PRESIDENT.—The President shall 

22 develop and implement policies to—

23 (1) encourage the development of infrastructure 

24 projects that will help to increase trade capacity and 
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1 a sustainable ecotourism industry in eligible sub-Sa2 haran African countries; 

3 (2) encourage and facilitate transboundary co4 operation among sub-Saharan African countries in 

5 order to facilitate trade; 

6 (3) encourage the provision of technical assist7 ance to eligible sub-Saharan African countries to es8 tablish and sustain adequate trade capacity develop9 ment; and 

10 (4) encourage micro-, small-, and medium-sized 

11 enterprises in eligible sub-Saharan African countries 

12 to participate in the ecotourism industry. 

13 SEC. 11. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF TRANSPORTATION, EN14 ERGY, AGRICULTURE, AND TELECOMMUNI15 CATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE. 

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

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

18 among, eligible sub-Saharan African countries, trans19 portation systems in those countries must be im20 proved to increase transport efficiencies and lower 

21 transport costs. 

22 (2) Vibrant economic growth requires a devel23 oped telecommunication and energy infrastructure. 

24 (3) Sub-Saharan Africa is rich in exportable ag25 ricultural goods, but development of this industry re-
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1 mains stymied because of an underdeveloped infra2 structure. 

3 (b) ACTION BY THE PRESIDENT.—In order to enhance 

4 trade with Africa and to bring the benefits of trade to Afri5 can countries, the President shall develop and implement 

6 policies to encourage investment in eligible sub-Saharan Af7 rican countries, particularly with respect to the following: 

8 (1) Infrastructure projects that support, in par9 ticular, development of land transport road and rail10 road networks and ports, and the continued upgrad11 ing and liberalization of the energy and telecommuni12 cations sectors. 

13 (2) The establishment and expansion of modern 

14 information and communication technologies and 

15 practices to improve the ability of citizens to research 

16 and disseminate information relating to, among other 

17 things, the economy, education, trade, health, agri18 culture, the environment, and the media. 

19 (3) Agriculture, particularly in processing and 

20 capacity enhancement. 

21 SEC. 12. FACILITATION OF TRANSPORTATION. 

22 In order to facilitate and increase trade flows between 

23 eligible sub-Saharan African countries and the United 

24 States, the President shall foster improved port-to-port and 
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1 airport-to-airport relationships. These relationships should 

2 facilitate—

3 (1) increased coordination between customs serv4 ices at ports and airports in the United States and 

5 such countries in order to reduce time in transit; 

6 (2) interaction between customs and technical 

7 staff from ports and airports in the United States 

8 and such countries in order to increase efficiency and 

9 safety procedures and protocols relating to trade; 

10 (3) coordination between chambers of commerce, 

11 freight forwarders, customs brokers, and others in12 volved in consolidating and moving freight; and 

13 (4) trade through air service between airports in 

14 the United States and such countries by increasing 

15 frequency and capacity. 

16 SEC. 13. AGRICULTURAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

17 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF COUNTRIES.—The President 

18 shall identify not fewer than 10 eligible sub-Saharan Afri19 can countries as having the greatest potential to increase 

20 marketable exports of agricultural products to the United 

21 States and the greatest need for technical assistance, par22 ticularly with respect to pest risk assessments and com23 plying with sanitary and phytosanitary rules of the United 

24 States. 
27

•HR 4103 RH 

1 (b) PERSONNEL.—The President shall assign at least 

2 20 full-time personnel for the purpose of providing assist3 ance to the countries identified under subsection (a) to en4 sure that exports of agricultural products from those coun5 tries meet the requirements of United States law. 

6 SEC. 14. TRADE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON AFRICA. 

7 The President shall convene the trade advisory com8 mittee on Africa established by Executive Order 11846 of 

9 March 27, 1975, under section 135(c) of the Trade Act of 

10 1974, in order to facilitate the goals and objectives of the 

11 African Growth and Opportunity Act and this Act, and to 

12 maintain ongoing discussions with African trade and agri13 culture ministries and private sector organizations on 

14 issues of mutual concern, including regional and inter15 national trade concerns and World Trade Organization 

16 issues.
Union Calendar No. 285

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4103

[Report No. 108–501] 

A BILL

To extend and modify the trade benefits under the 

African Growth and Opportunity Act. 

MAY 19, 2004

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,