I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8249 
To strengthen the African Continental Free Trade Area, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 6, 2024 
Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK (for herself and Mr. JACKSON of Illinois) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 
and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a 
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To strengthen the African Continental Free Trade Area, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘U.S.-Africa Strategic 
Trade and Investment Partnership Act of 2024’’ or the 
‘‘ASTIP Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Africa Continental Free Trade Area 
(‘‘AfCFTA’’) will be the largest free trade area given 
Africa’s current population of 1,400,000,000 people, 
which is expected to grow to 2,500,000,000 by 2050 
and close to 40 percent of the global population by 
2100; 
(2) According to the United Nations Economic 
Commission for Africa, this single-market trade 
agreement will enable the African economy to reach 
the $29 trillion mark by 2050. 
(3) According to World Bank estimates, by 
2035, the total gross domestic product of African 
countries 
is 
projected 
to 
increase 
by 
$450,000,000,000 with the implementation of the 
AfCFTA and lift 30,000,000 people in Africa out of 
extreme poverty while boosting the wages of women 
and unskilled workers in particular in Africa. 
(4) According to the Brooking Institute Press 
Book ‘‘Unlocking Africa’s Business Potential’’, by 
2050, the combined consumer and business spending 
in Africa will exceed $16.12 trillion. 
(5) According to the World Bank, total 
intracontinental exports from African countries 
would increase by 81 percent under the AfCFTA. 
By economic sector, the AfCFTA is expected to be 
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especially important for expanding manufacturing, 
by increasing intracontinental manufacturing exports 
by 110 percent, which will diversify African econo-
mies and decrease the reliance of such economies 
upon extracting natural resources. 
(6) The AfCFTA also is projected to increase 
African manufacturing exports to the rest of the 
world by 46 percent. As a result of the AfCFTA cre-
ating new commercial opportunities and diversifying 
global supply chains, the rest of the world’s gross 
domestic product is expected to increase by 
$76,000,000,000. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to— 
(1) support the African Union’s Agenda 2063 
efforts to promote regional economic development, 
by stimulating greater trade and investment among 
African countries and between Africa and the United 
States; 
(2) partner with the African Union Commission 
and African Union entities such as the African Con-
tinental Free Trade Area Secretariat, African Re-
gional Economic Communities, and other intergov-
ernmental African organizations to bolster trade and 
investment at the regional, intracontinental, and 
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international levels, and facilitate market access and 
bilateral trade between the United States and Afri-
can countries; 
(3) increase opportunities for trade and invest-
ment between African countries and United States 
businesses, including those owned by members of the 
African diaspora, women, youth and underserved 
groups, thereby thereby contributing to potential 
United States economic growth; 
(4) promote the goals of the African Conti-
nental Free Trade Agreement signed on March 21, 
2018, to lower trade barriers between African coun-
tries, expand commercial opportunities for under-
served groups, women, and youth entrepreneurs, and 
attract greater foreign investment; 
(5) improve the efficacy, efficiency, and coordi-
nation of United States development aid and tech-
nical assistance, focusing on trade capacity building 
that is provided to African countries, regional com-
munities, and intergovernmental or multinational en-
tities including to the AfCFTA Secretariat; 
(6) support efforts to aid the implementation of 
the trade policy priorities of the AfCFTA, developed 
in coordination with continental, regional, and coun-
try partners in Africa; and 
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(7) facilitate market access and bilateral trade 
between the United States and African countries. 
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES ROADMAP TO PROMOTE THE AFRI-
CAN CONTINENTAL FREE TRADE AREA. 
(a) REPORT.— 
(1) UNITED
STATES
TRADE
REPRESENTA-
TIVE.—The President shall, using existing inter-
agency trade policy development and coordination 
authority and mechanisms, direct the United States 
Trade Representative, in coordination with the Sec-
retary of State, the Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development, and 
the heads of other Federal agencies the President 
determines have trade or trade-related development 
mandates, to publish a report: 
(A) Describing efforts to promote the 
AfCFTA and to achieve the following goals: 
(i) Evaluate the industries in which 
the United States industries have a com-
parative advantage in Africa relative to 
other non-African countries, and strategy 
to promote trade and investment within 
those industries, especially in industries ex-
pected to grow with the implementation of 
the AfCFTA. 
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(ii) Evaluate the industries in which 
the United States investments can create 
direct and indirect jobs, and strategies to 
sustain and enhance them in both African 
counties and the United States, as the 
markets grow with the AfCFTA. 
(iii) Expand trade capacities and sup-
port trade-related infrastructure develop-
ment, and prioritize major intra-African 
trade corridors. 
(iv) Support the implementation and 
success of the AfCFTA and its goals as 
identified in consultation with African 
counterparts at the continental, regional, 
and country level, including by— 
(I) advancing African regional 
and intra-continental alignment of 
trade-related legal and administrative 
procedures; 
(II) strengthening the technical 
capacity of the AfCFTA Secretariat; 
and 
(III) promoting the development 
and expansion of African regional eco-
nomic communities as they pertain to 
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fostering trade, including through di-
rect consultation and partnership with 
the AfCFTA Secretariat. 
(v) Improve the efficacy of United 
States trade capacity building to support 
AfCFTA implementation, as appropriate, 
including by identifying duplication of or 
incompatibility between the assistance ac-
tivities of other major donors (such as non-
governmental organizations, other govern-
ments, and intergovernmental organiza-
tions) and the policies and projects in-
cluded in the strategy. 
(vi) Enable more effective and inclu-
sive participation of stakeholders, including 
those representing workers, environmental 
sustainability, African diaspora, women, 
youth, marginalized, or underrepresented 
groups, in the further negotiation of 
AfCFTA subsidiary agreements, protocols, 
or other legal texts, and the implementa-
tion of the AfCFTA generally. 
(B) Providing a description of the obliga-
tion and expenditure of all amounts made avail-
able to carry out the strategy during the pre-
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ceding 2 fiscal years, disaggregated by fiscal 
year, account, and activity. 
(C) Identifying successes and challenges 
relating to the implementation of the strategy. 
(D) Evaluating whether there has been any 
progress made regarding achieving the quali-
tative and quantitative goals and metrics in-
cluded in the initial report pursuant to sub-
section (b)(5). 
(E) Providing any updates and revisions 
made to the criteria described in subsection 
(b)(5) and included in the initial report. 
(F) Updating recommendations as de-
scribed in subsection (b)(6). 
(2) TIMEFRAME.—Not later than 2 years after 
the submission of the initial report required by sub-
section (b), and every 2 years thereafter for 8 years, 
the President shall submit the report to the relevant 
congressional committees. 
(3) PRIOR
APPROVAL
AND
BIENNIAL
UP-
DATES.—The report required by this subsection may 
only be developed through prior consultation with, 
and submitted with the approval of, the Trade Pol-
icy Staff Committee established pursuant to section 
242(a) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 
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