I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4103 

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 

A BILL 

To extend and modify the trade benefits under the African 

Growth and Opportunity Act. 

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 

5 Act 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 
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1 Act’’) has helped to spur economic growth and bol2 ster economic reforms in the countries of sub-Saha3 ran Africa and has fostered stronger economic ties 

4 between the countries of sub-Saharan Africa and the 

5 United States; as a result, exports from the United 

6 States to sub-Saharan Africa reached record levels 

7 after the enactment of the Act, while exports from 

8 sub-Saharan Africa to the United States have in9 creased considerably. 

10 (2) The Act’s eligibility requirements have rein11 forced democratic values and the rule of law, and 

12 have strengthened adherence to internationally rec13 ognized worker rights in eligible sub-Saharan Afri14 can countries. 

15 (3) The Act has helped to bring about substan16 tial increases in foreign investment in sub-Saharan 

17 Africa, especially in the textile and apparel sectors, 

18 where tens of thousands of new jobs have been cre19 ated. 

20 (4) As a result of the Agreement on Textiles 

21 and Apparel of the World Trade Organization, under 

22 which quotas maintained by WTO member countries 

23 on textile and apparel products end on January 1, 

24 2005, sub-Saharan Africa’s textile and apparel in25 dustry will be severely challenged by countries whose 
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1 industries are more developed and have greater ca2 pacity, economies of scale, and better infrastructure. 

3 (5) The underdeveloped physical and financial 

4 infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa continues to 

5 discourage investment in the region. 

6 (6) Regional integration establishes a founda7 tion on which sub-Saharan African countries can co8 ordinate and pursue policies grounded in African in9 terests and history to achieve sustainable develop10 ment. 

11 (7) Expanded trade because of Act has im12 proved fundamental economic conditions within sub13 Saharan Africa. The Act has helped to create jobs 

14 in the poorest region of the world, and most sub-Sa15 haran African countries have sought to take advan16 tage of the opportunities provided by the Act. 

17 (8) Agricultural biotechnology holds promise for 

18 helping solve global food security and human health 

19 crises in Africa and, according to recent studies, has 

20 made contributions to the protection of the environ21 ment by reducing the application of pesticides, re22 ducing soil erosion, and creating an environment 

23 more hospitable to wildlife. 

24 (9)(A) One of the greatest challenges facing Af25 rican countries continues to be the HIV/AIDS epi-
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1 demic, which has infected as many as one out of 

2 every four people in some countries, creating tre3 mendous social, political, and economic costs. Afri4 can countries need continued United States financial 

5 and technical assistance to combat this epidemic. 

6 (B) More awareness and involvement by govern7 ments are necessary. Countries like Uganda, recog8 nizing the threat of HIV/AIDS, have boldly attacked 

9 it through a combination of education, public aware10 ness, enhanced medical infrastructure and resources, 

11 and greater access to medical treatment. An effec12 tive HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment strategy 

13 involves all of these steps. 

14 (10) African countries continue to need trade 

15 capacity assistance to establish viable economic ca16 pacity, a well-grounded rule of law, and efficient 

17 government practices. 

18 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

19 The Congress supports— 

20 (1) a continued commitment to increase trade 

21 between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa 

22 and increase investment in sub-Saharan Africa to 

23 the benefit of workers, businesses, and farmers in 

24 the United States and in sub-Saharan Africa, in25 cluding by developing innovative approaches to en-
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1 courage development and investment in sub-Saharan 

2 Africa; 

3 (2) a reduction of tariff and nontariff barriers 

4 and other obstacles to trade between the countries of 

5 sub-Saharan Africa and the United States, with par6 ticular emphasis on reducing barriers to trade in 

7 emerging sectors of the economy that have the 

8 greatest potential for development; 

9 (3) development of sub-Saharan Africa’s phys10 ical and financial infrastructure; 

11 (4) international efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, 

12 malaria, tuberculosis, other infectious diseases, and 

13 serious public health problems; 

14 (5) many of the aims of the New Partnership 

15 for African Development (NEPAD), which include— 

16 (A) reducing poverty and increasing eco17 nomic growth; 

18 (B) promoting peace, democracy, security, 

19 and human rights; 

20 (C) promoting African integration by deep21 ening linkages between African countries and 

22 by accelerating Africa’s economic and political 

23 integration into the rest of the world; 

24 (D) attracting investment, debt relief, and 

25 development assistance; 
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1 (E) promoting trade and economic diver2 sification; 

3 (F) broadening global market access for 

4 United States and African exports; 

5 (G) improving transparency, good govern6 ance, and political accountability; 

7 (H) expanding access to social services, 

8 education, and health services with a high pri9 ority given to addressing HIV/AIDS, malaria, 

10 tuberculosis, other infectious diseases, and 

11 other public health problems; 

12 (I) promoting the role of women in social 

13 and economic development by reinforcing edu14 cation and training and by assuring their par15 ticipation in political and economic arenas; and 

16 (J) building the capacity of governments in 

17 sub-Saharan Africa to set and enforce a legal 

18 framework, as well as to enforce the rule of law; 

19 (6) negotiation of reciprocal trade agreements 

20 between the United States and sub-Saharan African 

21 countries, with the overall goal of expanding trade 

22 across all of sub-Saharan Africa; 

23 (7) the President seeking to negotiate, with in24 terested eligible sub-Saharan African countries, bi25 lateral trade agreements that provide investment op-
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1 portunities, in accordance with section 2102(b)(3) of 

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

3 (8) efforts by the President to negotiate with 

4 the member countries of the Southern African Cus5 toms Union in order to provide the opportunity to 

6 deepen and make permanent the benefits of the Act 

7 while giving the United States access to the markets 

8 of these African countries for United States goods 

9 and services, by reducing tariffs and non-tariff bar10 riers, strengthening intellectual property protection, 

11 improving transparency, establishing general dispute 

12 settlement mechanisms, and investor-state and state13 to-state dispute settlement mechanisms in invest14 ment; 

15 (9) a comprehensive and ambitious trade agree16 ment with the Southern African Customs Union, 

17 covering all products and sectors, in order to mature 

18 the economic relationship between sub-Saharan Afri19 can countries and the United States and because 

20 such an agreement would deepen United States eco21 nomic and political ties to the region, lend momen22 tum to United States development efforts, encourage 

23 greater United States investment, and promote re24 gional integration and economic growth; 
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1 (10) regional integration among sub-Saharan 

2 African countries and business partnerships between 

3 United States and African firms; and 

4 (11) economic diversification in sub-Saharan 

5 African countries and expansion of trade beyond tex6 tiles and apparel. 

7 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON RECIPROCITY AND RE8 GIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION. 

9 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

10 (1) the preferential market access opportunities 

11 for eligible sub-Saharan African countries will be 

12 complemented and enhanced if those countries are 

13 implementing actively and fully, consistent with any 

14 remaining applicable phase-in periods, their obliga15 tions under the World Trade Organization, including 

16 obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related 

17 Aspects of Intellectual Property, the Agreement on 

18 the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Meas19 ures, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Invest20 ment Measures, as well as the other agreements de21 scribed in section 101(d) of the Uruguay Round 

22 Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)); 

23 (2) eligible sub-Saharan African countries 

24 should participate in and support mutual trade liber25 alization in ongoing negotiations under the auspices 
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1 of the World Trade Organization, including by mak2 ing reciprocal commitments with respect to improv3 ing market access for industrial and agricultural 

4 goods, and for services, recognizing that such com5 mitments may need to reflect special and differential 

6 treatment for developing countries; 

7 (3) some of the most pernicious trade barriers 

8 against exports by developing countries are the trade 

9 barriers maintained by other developing countries; 

10 therefore, eligible sub-Saharan African countries will 

11 benefit from the reduction of trade barriers in other 

12 developing countries, especially in developing coun13 tries that represent some of the greatest potential 

14 markets for African goods and services; and 

15 (4) all countries should make sanitary and 

16 phytosanitary decisions on the basis of sound 

17 science. 

18 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERPRETATION OF TEX19 TILE AND APPAREL PROVISIONS OF AGOA. 

20 It is the sense of the Congress that the executive 

21 branch, particularly the Committee for the Implementa22 tion of Textile Agreements (CITA), the Bureau of Cus23 toms and Border Protection of the Department of Home24 land Security, and the Department of Commerce, should 

25 interpret, implement, and enforce the provisions of section 
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1 112 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, relating 

2 to preferential treatment of textile and apparel articles, 

3 broadly in order to expand trade by maximizing opportuni4 ties for imports of such articles from eligible sub-Saharan 

5 African countries. 

6 SEC. 6. DEFINITION. 

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

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

9 under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. 

10 SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF AFRICAN GROWTH AND OPPOR11 TUNITY ACT. 

12 (a) GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES.—Sec13 tion 506B of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2466b) 

14 is amended by striking ‘‘2008’’ and inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

15 (b) APPAREL ARTICLES.—(1) Section 112(b)(1) of 

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

17 3721(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(including’’ and in18 serting ‘‘or both (including’’. 

19 (2) Section 112(b)(3) of the African Growth and Op20 portunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721 (b)(3)) is amended— 

21 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

22 (A)— 

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

24 or one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African 

25 countries’’ each place it appears and inserting 
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1 ‘‘in the United States or one or more bene2 ficiary sub-Saharan African countries or former 

3 beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, or 

4 both’’; and 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘subject to the following:’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘whether or not the apparel arti7 cles are also made from any of the fabrics, fab8 ric components formed, or components knit-to9 shape described in paragraph (1) or (2) (unless 

10 the apparel articles are made exclusively from 

11 any of the fabrics, fabric components formed, or 

12 components knit-to-shape described in para13 graph (1) or (2)), subject to the following:’’; 

14 and 

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

16 inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) LIMITATIONS ON BENEFITS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Preferential treat19 ment under this paragraph shall be ex20 tended in the 1-year period beginning Oc21 tober 1, 2003, and in each of the 11 suc22 ceeding 1-year periods, to imports of ap23 parel articles in an amount not to exceed 

24 the applicable percentage of the aggregate 

25 square meter equivalents of all apparel ar-
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1 ticles imported into the United States in 

2 the preceding 12-month period for which 

3 data are available. 

4 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For 

5 purposes of this subparagraph, the term 

6 ‘applicable percentage’ means— 

7 ‘‘(I) 4.747 percent for the 1-year 

8 period beginning October 1, 2003, in9 creased in each of the 5 succeeding 1- 

10 year periods by equal increments, so 

11 that for the 1-year period beginning 

12 October 1, 2007, the applicable per13 centage does not exceed 7 percent; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(II) for each succeeding 1-year 

16 period until September 30, 2015, not 

17 to exceed 7 percent. 

18 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR LESSER DEVEL19 OPED COUNTRIES.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Preferential treat21 ment under this paragraph shall be ex22 tended though September 30, 2007, for ap23 parel articles wholly assembled, or knit-to24 shape and wholly assembled, or both, in 

25 one or more lesser developed beneficiary 
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1 sub-Saharan African countries, regardless 

2 of the country of origin of the fabric or the 

3 yarn used to make such articles, in an 

4 amount not to exceed the applicable per5 centage of the aggregate square meter 

6 equivalents of all apparel articles imported 

7 into the United States in the preceding 12- 

8 month period for which data are available. 

9 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For 

10 purposes of the subparagraph, the term 

11 ‘applicable percentage’ means— 

12 ‘‘(I) 2.3571 percent for the 1- 

13 year period beginning October 1, 

14 2003, the 1-year period beginning Oc15 tober 1, 2004, and the 1-year period 

16 beginning October 1, 2005; and 

17 ‘‘(II) 1.17855 percent for the 1- 

18 year period beginning October 1, 

19 2006. 

20 ‘‘(iii) LESSER DEVELOPED BENE21 FICIARY SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUN22 TRY.—For purposes of this subparagraph, 

23 the term ‘lesser developed beneficiary sub24 Saharan African country’ means— 
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1 ‘‘(I) a beneficiary sub-Saharan 

2 African country that had a per capita 

3 gross national product of less than 

4 $1,500 in 1998, as measured by the 

5 International Bank for Reconstruction 

6 and Development; 

7 ‘‘(II) Botswana; and 

8 ‘‘(III) Namibia.’’. 

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

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

11 to read as follows: 

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

13 are both cut (or knit-to-shape) and sewn or oth14 erwise assembled in one or more beneficiary 

15 sub-Saharan African countries, to the extent 

16 that apparel articles of such fabrics or yarns 

17 would be eligible for preferential treatment, 

18 without regard to the source of the fabrics or 

19 yarns, under Annex 401 to the NAFTA.’’. 

20 (c) HANDLOOMED, HANDMADE, FOLKLORE ARTI21 CLES AND ETHNIC PRINTED FABRICS.—Section 

22 112(b)(6) of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 

23 U.S.C. 3721(b)(6)) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(6) HANDLOOMED, HANDMADE, FOLKLORE

25 ARTICLES AND ETHNIC PRINTED FABRICS.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A handloomed, hand2 made, folklore article or an ethnic printed fab3 ric of a beneficiary sub-Saharan African coun4 try or countries that is certified as such by the 

5 competent authority of such beneficiary country 

6 or countries. For purposes of this section, the 

7 President, after consultation with the bene8 ficiary sub-Saharan African country or coun9 tries concerned, shall determine which, if any, 

10 particular textile and apparel goods of the coun11 try (or countries) shall be treated as being 

12 handloomed, handmade, or folklore articles or 

13 an ethic printed fabric. 

14 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR ETHNIC PRINT15 ED FABRIC.—Ethnic printed fabrics qualified 

16 under this paragraph are— 

17 ‘‘(i) fabrics containing a selvedge on 

18 both edges, having a width of less than 50 

19 inches, classifiable under subheading 

20 5208.52.30 or 5208.52.40 of the Har21 monized Tariff Schedule of the United 

22 States; 

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

24 symbols, and other characteristics of Afri25 can prints— 
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1 ‘‘(I) normally produced for and 

2 sold on the indigenous African mar3 ket; and 

4 ‘‘(II) normally sold in Africa by 

5 the piece as opposed to being tailored 

6 into garments before being sold in in7 digenous African markets; 

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

9 or more eligible beneficiary sub-Saharan 

10 countries; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) fabrics formed in the United 

12 States, from yarns formed in the United 

13 States, or from fabric formed in one or 

14 more beneficiary sub-Saharan African 

15 country from yarn originating in either the 

16 United States or one or more beneficiary 

17 sub-Saharan African countries.’’. 

18 (d) REGIONAL AND U.S. SOURCES.—Section 

19 112(b)(7) of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 

20 U.S.C. 3721(b)(7)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or former 

21 beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries’’ after ‘‘and one 

22 or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries’’ each 

23 place it appears. 

24 (e) SPECIAL RULES.— 
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1 (1) COLLARS AND CUFFS.—Section 112(d) of 

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

3 3721(d)) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(3) COLLARS AND CUFFS.—An article other6 wise eligible for preferential treatment under this 

7 section will not be ineligible for such treatment be8 cause the article contains any collars or cuffs (cut or 

9 knit-to-shape) that do not meet the requirements set 

10 forth in subsection (b), regardless of the country of 

11 origin of such collars or cuffs.’’. 

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

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

14 3721(d)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or former ben15 eficiary sub-Saharan African countries’’ after ‘‘coun16 tries’’. 

17 (f) DEFINITIONS.—Section 112(f) of the African 

18 Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721(f)) is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(4) FORMER SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUN21 TRY.—The term ‘former sub-Saharan African coun22 try’ mean a country that was designated as a bene23 ficiary sub-Saharan African country after the enact24 ment of this Act, but thereafter ceased to be such 

25 a beneficiary sub-Saharan country by reason of its 
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1 entering into a free trade agreement with the United 

2 States.’’. 

3 SEC. 8. ENTRIES OF CERTAIN APPAREL ARTICLES PURSU4 ANT TO THE AFRICAN GROWTH AND OPPOR5 TUNITY ACT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 514 of 

7 the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1514) or any other pro8 vision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall liquidate 

9 or reliquidate as free of duty and free of any quantitative 

10 restrictions, limitations, or consultation levels entries of 

11 articles described in subsection (d) made on or after Octo12 ber 1, 2000, and before the date of the enactment of this 

13 Act. 

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

15 made under subsection (a) with respect to an entry de16 scribed in subsection (d) only if a request therefor is filed 

17 with the Secretary of the Treasury within 90 days after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act and the request con19 tains sufficient information to enable the Secretary to lo20 cate the entry or reconstruct the entry if it cannot be lo21 cated. 

22 (c) PAYMENT OF AMOUNTS OWED.—Any amounts 

23 owed by the United States pursuant to the liquidation or 

24 reliquidation of any entry under subsection (a) shall be 
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1 paid not later than 180 days after the date of such liquida2 tion or reliquidation. 

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

4 (a) are entries of apparel articles that meet the require5 ments of section 112(b) of the African Growth and Oppor6 tunity Act (as amended by section 3108 of the Trade Act 

7 of 2002 and this Act). 

8 SEC. 9. DEVELOPMENT STUDY AND CAPACITY BUILDING. 

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

10 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, conduct 

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

12 that— 

13 (1) identifies sectors of the economy of that 

14 country with the greatest potential for growth, in15 cluding through export sales; 

16 (2) identifies barriers, both domestically and 

17 internationally, that are impeding growth in such 

18 sectors; and 

19 (3) makes recommendations on how the United 

20 States Government and the private sector can pro21 vide technical assistance to that country to assist in 

22 dismantling such barriers and in promoting invest23 ment in such sectors. 

24 (b) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Presi25 dent shall disseminate information in each study con-
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1 ducted under subsection (a) to the appropriate United 

2 States agencies for the purpose of implementing rec3 ommendations on the provision of technical assistance and 

4 in identifying opportunities for United States investors, 

5 businesses, and farmers. 

6 SEC. 10. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF INFRASTRUCTURE TO 

7 SUPPORT INCREASING TRADE CAPACITY AND 

8 ECOTOURISM. 

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

10 (1) Ecotourism, which consists of— 

11 (A) responsible and sustainable travel and 

12 visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas 

13 in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and 

14 any accompanying cultural features, both past 

15 and present) and animals, including species 

16 that are rare or endangered, 

17 (B) promotion of conservation and provi18 sion for beneficial involvement of local popu19 lations, and 

20 (C) visitation designed to have low negative 

21 impact upon the environment, 

22 is expected to expand 30 percent globally over the 

23 next decade. 

24 (2) Ecotourism will increase trade capacity by 

25 sustaining otherwise unsustainable infrastructure, 
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1 such as road, port, water, energy, and telecommuni2 cation development. 

3 (3) According to the United States Department 

4 of State and the United Nations Environment Pro5 gramme, sustainable tourism, such as ecotourism, 

6 can be an important part of the economic develop7 ment of a region, especially a region with natural 

8 and cultural protected areas. 

9 (4) Sub-Saharan Africa enjoys an international 

10 comparative advantage in ecotourism because it fea11 tures extensive protected areas that host a variety of 

12 ecosystems and traditional cultures that are major 

13 attractions for nature-oriented tourism. 

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

15 Africa should be considered a basis for regional de16 velopment, involving communities living within and 

17 adjacent to them and, given their strong inter18 national recognition, provide an advantage in 

19 ecotourism marketing and promotion. 

20 (6) Desert areas in sub-Saharan Africa rep21 resent complex ecotourism attractions, showcasing 

22 natural, geological, and archaeological features, and 

23 nomad and other cultures and traditions. 

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

25 cross the political borders of several countries; there-
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1 fore, transboundary cooperation is fundamental for 

2 all types of ecotourism development. 

3 (8) The commercial viability of ecotourism is 

4 enhanced when small and medium enterprises, par5 ticularly microenterprises, successfully engage with 

6 the tourism industry in sub-Saharan Africa. 

7 (9) Adequate capacity building is an essential 

8 component of ecotourism development if local com9 munities are to be real stakeholders that can sustain 

10 an equitable approach to ecotourism management. 

11 (10) Ecotourism needs to generate local com12 munity benefits by utilizing sub-Saharan Africa’s 

13 natural heritage, parks, wildlife reserves, and other 

14 protected areas that can play a significant role in 

15 encouraging local economic development by sourcing 

16 food and other locally produced resources. 

17 (b) ACTION BY THE PRESIDENT.—The President 

18 shall develop and implement policies to— 

19 (1) encourage the development of infrastructure 

20 projects that will help to increase trade capacity and 

21 a sustainable ecotourism industry in eligible sub-Sa22 haran African countries; 

23 (2) encourage and facilitate transboundary co24 operation among sub-Saharan African countries in 

25 order to facilitate trade; 
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1 (3) encourage the provision of technical assist2 ance to eligible sub-Saharan African countries to es3 tablish and sustain adequate trade capacity develop4 ment; and 

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

6 enterprises in eligible sub-Saharan African countries 

7 to participate in the ecotourism industry. 

8 SEC. 11. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF TRANSPORTATION, 

9 ENERGY, AGRICULTURE, AND TELECOMMUNI10 CATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE. 

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

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

13 among, eligible sub-Saharan African countries, 

14 transportation systems in those countries must be 

15 improved to increase transport efficiencies and lower 

16 transport costs. 

17 (2) Vibrant economic growth requires a devel18 oped telecommunication and energy infrastructure. 

19 (3) Sub-Saharan Africa is rich in exportable ag20 ricultural goods, but development of this industry re21 mains stymied because of an underdeveloped infra22 structure. 

23 (b) ACTION BY THE PRESIDENT.—In order to en24 hance trade with Africa and to bring the benefits of trade 

25 to African countries, the President shall develop and im-
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1 plement policies to encourage investment in eligible sub2 Saharan African countries, particularly with respect to the 

3 following: 

4 (1) Infrastructure projects that support, in par5 ticular, development of land transport road and rail6 road networks and ports, and the continued upgrad7 ing and liberalization of the energy and tele8 communications sectors. 

9 (2) The establishment and expansion of modern 

10 information and communication technologies and 

11 practices to improve the ability of citizens to re12 search and disseminate information relating to, 

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

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

15 (3) Agriculture, particularly in processing and 

16 capacity enhancement. 

17 SEC. 12. FACILITATION OF TRANSPORTATION. 

18 In order to facilitate and increase trade flows between 

19 eligible sub-Saharan African countries and the United 

20 States, the President shall foster improved port-to-port 

21 and airport-to-airport relationships. These relationships 

22 should facilitate— 

23 (1) increased coordination between customs 

24 services at ports and airports in the United States 
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1 and such countries in order to reduce time in tran2 sit; 

3 (2) interaction between customs and technical 

4 staff from ports and airports in the United States 

5 and such countries in order to increase efficiency 

6 and safety procedures and protocols relating to 

7 trade; 

8 (3) coordination between chambers of com9 merce, freight forwarders, customs brokers, and oth10 ers involved in consolidating and moving freight; and 

11 (4) trade through air service between airports 

12 in the United States and such countries by increas13 ing frequency and capacity. 

14 SEC. 13. AGRICULTURAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

15 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF COUNTRIES.—The President 

16 shall identify not fewer than 10 eligible sub-Saharan Afri17 can countries as having the greatest potential to increase 

18 marketable exports of agricultural products to the United 

19 States and the greatest need for technical assistance, par20 ticularly with respect to pest risk assessments and com21 plying with sanitary and phytosanitary rules of the United 

22 States. 

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

24 20 full-time personnel for the purpose of providing assist25 ance to the countries identified under subsection (a) to 
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1 ensure that exports of agricultural products from those 

2 countries meet the requirements of United States law. 

3 SEC. 14. TRADE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON AFRICA. 

4 The President shall convene the trade advisory com5 mittee on Africa established by Executive Order 11846 of 

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

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

8 the African Growth and Opportunity Act and this Act, and 

9 to maintain ongoing discussions with African trade and 

10 agriculture ministries and private sector organizations on 

11 issues of mutual concern, including regional and inter12 national trade concerns and World Trade Organization 

13 issues. 

Æ