I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4101 
To amend the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Trade Act 
of 1974 to provide improved duty-free treatment for certain articles 
from certain least-developed countries, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 18, 2009 
Mr. MCDERMOTT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the African Growth and Opportunity Act and 
the Trade Act of 1974 to provide improved duty-free 
treatment for certain articles from certain least-developed 
countries, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘New Partnership for Trade Development Act of 2009’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Expanded benefits and alternative rule of origin for articles of sub-Sa-
haran African countries. 
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Sec. 3. Expanded benefits and rule of origin for articles of other least-developed 
beneficiary countries. 
Sec. 4. Review of import-restricted articles under Generalized System of Pref-
erences. 
Sec. 5. Factors affecting country designation under Generalized System of 
Preferences. 
Sec. 6. Rule of origin under Generalized System of Preferences. 
Sec. 7. Extension of Generalized System of Preferences. 
Sec. 8. Office of Trade and Competitiveness for Least Developed and African 
Countries. 
SEC. 2. EXPANDED BENEFITS AND ALTERNATIVE RULE OF 
ORIGIN FOR ARTICLES OF SUB-SAHARAN AF-
RICAN COUNTRIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The African Growth and Oppor-
tunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) is amended by insert-
ing after section 112 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 112A. EXPANDED BENEFITS AND ALTERNATIVE RULE 
OF ORIGIN FOR ARTICLES OF SUB-SAHARAN 
AFRICAN COUNTRIES. 
‘‘(a) DUTY-FREE TREATMENT.—The President shall, 
subject to section 503(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
U.S.C. 2463(b)), provide duty-free treatment in accord-
ance with this section for all articles from qualified bene-
ficiary sub-Saharan African countries designated under 
subsection (b), and such articles shall not be subject to 
any quantitative limitation. 
‘‘(b) DESIGNATED COUNTRIES.—The President shall 
designate as a qualified beneficiary sub-Saharan African 
country for purposes of this section any country that is 
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designated as an eligible sub-Saharan African country 
under section 104 of this Act. 
‘‘(c) RULE OF ORIGIN.—The rule of origin require-
ments described in section 503(a)(2) of the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(a)(2)) shall apply with respect to 
a determination to provide duty-free treatment under this 
section to any article from a qualified beneficiary sub-Sa-
haran African country designated under subsection (b) to 
the same extent and in the same manner as the rule of 
origin requirements described in such section 503(a)(2) 
apply with respect to a determination to provide duty-free 
treatment under title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) to any article from a beneficiary de-
veloping country. 
‘‘(d) TERMINATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The preferential treatment 
under this section shall terminate— 
‘‘(A) at the close of December 31, 2015; or 
‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), 
if the President makes a determination and cer-
tification to Congress that there is a successful 
conclusion to the World Trade Organization’s 
Doha Development Agenda Round of Negotia-
tions on or before the date specified in subpara-
graph (A), at the close of December 31, 2019. 
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‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The preferential treatment 
under this section shall apply with respect to all arti-
cles from a qualified beneficiary sub-Saharan Afri-
can country designated under subsection (b) after 
December 31, 2019, as follows: 
‘‘(A) For the 5-year period beginning on 
January 1, 2020, such country is determined by 
the Economic and Social Council of the United 
Nations to be ‘Least Developed’, as of March 
31, 2019. 
‘‘(B) For each successive 5-year period 
thereafter, such country is determined by the 
Economic and Social Council of the United Na-
tions to be ‘Least Developed’, as of March 31 
of the last year of the preceding 5-year pe-
riod.’’. 
(b) 
LESSER
DEVELOPED
COUNTRIES.—Section 
112(c)(1) of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 
U.S.C. 3721(c)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SEPTEMBER 30, 
2012’’ and inserting ‘‘SEPTEMBER 30, 2015’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Sep-
tember 30, 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 
2015’’; and 
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(3) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘Sep-
tember 30, 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 
2015’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION RULE.— 
(1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by subsection (a) and (b) take effect on the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
(2) TRANSITION RULE.—During the period be-
ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and 
ending at the close of September 30, 2015, any arti-
cle to which section 112A of the African Growth and 
Opportunity Act (as added by subsection (a) of this 
section) applies may be entered, at the option of the 
importer, pursuant to— 
(A) section 112A of the African Growth 
and Opportunity Act; or 
(B) section 503 or 506A of the Trade Act 
of 1974 or section 112 of the African Growth 
and Opportunity Act, as the case may be. 
(d) REPEAL.—Effective October 1, 2015, section 112 
of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 
3721) is repealed. 
(e) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The table of contents for the 
Trade and Development Act of 2000 is amended by 
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inserting after the item relating to section 112 the 
following: 
‘‘112A. Expanded benefits and alternative rule of origin for articles of sub-Saha-
ran African countries.’’. 
(2) REPEALS.—Effective October 1, 2015, the 
item relating to section 112 of the African Growth 
and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3721) in the table 
of contents for that Act is repealed. 
SEC. 3. EXPANDED BENEFITS AND RULE OF ORIGIN FOR 
ARTICLES 
OF 
OTHER 
LEAST-DEVELOPED 
BENEFICIARY COUNTRIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Trade Act of 1974 
(19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
section 506B the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 506C. EXPANDED BENEFITS AND RULE OF ORIGIN 
FOR ARTICLES OF OTHER LEAST-DEVELOPED 
BENEFICIARY COUNTRIES. 
‘‘(a) DUTY-FREE TREATMENT.—The President shall, 
subject to section 503(b), provide duty-free treatment in 
accordance with this section for all articles from qualified 
least-developed beneficiary countries designated under 
subsection (b), and such articles shall not be subject to 
any quantitative limitation. 
‘‘(b) DESIGNATED COUNTRIES.—The President shall 
designate as a qualified beneficiary country for purposes 
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of this section any country that meets the following re-
quirements: 
‘‘(1) For the period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this section and ending at the close 
of December 31, 2014, the country is determined by 
the Economic and Social Council of the United Na-
tions to be ‘Least Developed’, as of March 31, 2009. 
For the period beginning on January 1, 2015, and 
ending at the close of December 31, 2019, the coun-
try is determined by the Economic and Social Coun-
cil of the United Nations to be ‘Least Developed’, as 
of March 31, 2014. 
‘‘(2) The country is not eligible for designation 
as an eligible sub-Saharan African country under 
section 104 of the African Growth and Opportunity 
Act because the country is not listed under section 
107 of that Act, but otherwise meets the require-
ments of such section 104. 
‘‘(3) The country otherwise meets the eligibility 
criteria set forth in section 502, subject to the au-
thority granted to the President under subsections 
(a), (d), and (e) of such section. 
‘‘(c) RULE OF ORIGIN.—The rule of origin require-
ments described in section 503(a)(2) shall apply with re-
spect to a determination to provide duty-free treatment 
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under this section to any article from a qualified least- 
developed beneficiary country designated under subsection 
(b) to the same extent and in the same manner as the 
rule of origin requirements described in such section 
503(a)(2) apply with respect to a determination to provide 
duty-free treatment under this title to any article from a 
beneficiary developing country. 
‘‘(d) ADJUSTMENT RULE FOR DUTY-FREE TREAT-
MENT FOR ARTICLES OF SIGNIFICANT APPAREL SUP-
PLIERS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In each applicable 1-year 
period, in the case of an article described in para-
graph (2) that is the growth, product, or manufac-
ture of a qualified least-developed beneficiary coun-
try that is a significant apparel supplier, the pref-
erential treatment under subsection (a) shall be lim-
ited to 50 percent of the aggregate square meter 
equivalent of the combined product categories of 
such products that entered from that country in cal-
endar year 2007. 
‘‘(2) ARTICLES.—The articles referred to in 
paragraph (1) are the following: 
‘‘(A) Men’s and boys’ trousers, breeches, 
and shorts made with cotton or manmade fibers 
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(textile and apparel category numbers 347 and 
647). 
‘‘(B) Women’s and girls’ trousers, slacks, 
breeches, and shorts made with cotton or man- 
made fibers (textile and apparel category num-
bers 348 and 648). 
‘‘(C) Men’s and boys’ knit shirts made 
from cotton or man-made fibers (textile and ap-
parel category numbers 338 and 638). 
‘‘(D) Women’s and girls’ knit shirts and 
blouses made from cotton or man-made fibers 
(textile and apparel category numbers 339 and 
639). 
‘‘(E) Men’s and boys’ shirts, not knit, 
made from cotton or man-made fibers (textile 
and apparel category numbers 340 and 640). 
‘‘(F) Women’s and girls’ shirts and 
blouses, non-knit, made from cotton or man- 
made fibers (textile and apparel category num-
bers 341 and 641). 
‘‘(G) Men’s and boys’ coats made from cot-
ton or man-made fibers (textile and apparel cat-
egory numbers 333, 334, 633, 634, and 643). 
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‘‘(H) Women’s and girls’ coats made from 
cotton or man-made fibers (textile and apparel 
category numbers 335, 635, and 644). 
‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVE
ADJUSTMENT
RULE
FOR 
SIGNIFICANT APPAREL SUPPLIERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a qualified least-de-
veloped beneficiary country that is a significant 
apparel supplier qualifies under subparagraph 
(B) for the integration incentive for a fiscal 
year after fiscal year 2010, then the quan-
titative limitation under paragraph (1) for that 
calendar year shall be increased by 10 percent-
age points over the quantitative limitation that 
applied to that country in the preceding fiscal 
year. 
‘‘(B) INTEGRATION INCENTIVE.—A signifi-
cant apparel supplier qualifies for the integra-
tion incentive if not less than 50 percent of the 
aggregate square meter equivalents of the arti-
cles listed in paragraph (2)(A) that entered 
from that country in the preceding fiscal year 
are composed of yarns or fabrics or components 
made of yarns or fabrics that originate in bene-
ficiary developing countries under this title or 
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are in countries that are party to a free trade 
agreement with the United States. 
‘‘(C) REPORT.—The International Trade 
Commission shall submit to Congress annually 
by December 31 of each year a report on the 
aggregate textile and apparel imports of each 
qualified least-developed beneficiary country 
that is a significant apparel supplier from each 
country that is ‘Least Developed’ (as deter-
mined by the Economic and Social Council of 
the United Nations) and publish such report in 
the Federal Register. 
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) APPLICABLE
1-YEAR
PERIOD.—The 
term ‘applicable 1-year period’ means the 1- 
year period beginning January 1, 2010, and 
each 1-year period thereafter until December 
31, 2019. 
‘‘(B) SIGNIFICANT APPAREL SUPPLIER.— 
The term ‘significant apparel supplier’ means a 
qualified least-developed beneficiary country 
from which total apparel imports in a calendar 
year exceed 2 percent of the aggregate square 
meter equivalents of all apparel imports in such 
year. 
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‘‘(C) TEXTILE
AND
APPAREL
CATEGORY 
NUMBER.—The term ‘textile and apparel cat-
egory number’ means the number assigned 
under the U.S. Textile and Apparel Category 
System of the Office of Textiles and Apparel of 
the Department of Commerce, as listed in the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States under the applicable heading or sub-
heading (as in effect on September 1, 2007). 
‘‘(5) TERMINATION.—The adjustment rule pro-
visions of this subsection shall terminate— 
‘‘(A) at the close of December 31, 2015; or 
‘‘(B) if the President makes a determina-
tion and certification to Congress in accordance 
with subsection (e)(1)(B), at the close of De-
cember 31, 2019. 
‘‘(e) TERMINATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The preferential treatment 
under this section shall terminate— 
‘‘(A) at the close of December 31, 2015; or 
‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), 
if the President makes a determination and cer-
tification to Congress that there is a successful 
conclusion to the World Trade Organization’s 
Doha Development Agenda Round of Negotia-
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tions on or before the date specified in subpara-
graph (A), at the close of December 31, 2019. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The preferential treatment 
under this section shall apply with respect to all arti-
cles from a qualified least-developed beneficiary 
country designated under subsection (b) after De-
cember 31, 2019, as follows: 
‘‘(A) For the 5-year period beginning on 
January 1, 2020, such country is determined by 
the Economic and Social Council of the United 
Nations to be ‘Least Developed’, as of March 
31, 2019. 
‘‘(B) For each successive 5-year period 
thereafter, such country is determined by the 
Economic and Social Council of the United Na-
tions to be ‘Least Developed’, as of March 31 
of the last year of the preceding 5-year pe-
riod.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
for the Trade Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 506B the following: 
‘‘506C. Expanded benefits and rule of origin for articles of other least-developed 
beneficiary countries.’’. 
SEC. 4. REVIEW OF IMPORT-RESTRICTED ARTICLES UNDER 
GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES. 
(a) TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PANEL.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 
a Trade and Development Review Panel (in this sec-
tion referred to as the ‘‘Panel’’). 
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Panel shall be com-
prised of not more than ten members, including the 
heads of the United States Agency for International 
Development, the Department of State, the United 
States Trade Representative, the International 
Trade Commission, and such other individuals se-
lected pursuant to paragraph (3). 
(3) OTHER MEMBERS.—The President shall se-
lect members of the Panel (other than the heads of 
the agencies referred to in paragraph (2)), from 
among individuals of the general public with sub-
stantive expertise in the matters to be carried out by 
the Panel, after consultation with the Chairman and 
Ranking Member of the Committees on Ways and 
Means and Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committees on Finance and 
Foreign Relations of the Senate. 
(4) CHAIRPERSONS.—The Panel shall be co- 
chaired by the United States Trade Representative 
and the Administrator of the United States Agency 
for International Development. 
(5) DUTIES.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The Panel shall carry 
out the duties described in subparagraph (C) of 
section 503(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
U.S.C. 2463(d)(1)), as amended by subsection 
(b)(1) of this section. 
(B) METHODOLOGY.—The Panel shall em-
ploy procedures that provide a maximum 
amount of transparency into the decisionmaking 
process of the Panel, and to the extent prac-
ticable establish quantitative benchmarks that 
are used for decisionmaking purposes. 
(6) TERMS.—Members shall serve five-year 
terms and may be reappointed. 
(7) COOPERATION.—The Panel, at its request, 
is authorized to request and obtain information and 
analysis from any Federal department or agency. 
(b) RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE PRESIDENT.—Sec-
tion 503(d) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(d)) 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 
subparagraph (E); 
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(C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 
the following new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(C) receives the advice of the Trade and De-
velopment Review Panel established in accordance 
with section 4(a) of the New Partnership for Trade 
Development Act on whether denying such waiver 
would improve the development, with an emphasis 
on job creation, in beneficiary developing countries 
with lower indicators of development, as determined 
by the President, 
‘‘(D) determines, based on the advice described 
in subparagraph (C), that denying such waiver is in 
the national economic interest of the United States 
or in the economic interest of such other beneficiary 
developing countries, and’’; and 
(D) in subparagraph (E), as redesignated 
pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this para-
graph, by striking ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘subparagraphs (B) and (D)’’; 
(2) by striking paragraph (4); and 
(3) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para-
graph (4). 
(c) DESIGNATION OF ARTICLES AS ELIGIBLE FOR 
PREFERENTIAL
TREATMENT.—Section 503(b) of the 
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(b)) is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The Presi-
dent’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in para-
graph (5), the President’’; 
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘No quantity’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (5), 
no quantity’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) DESIGNATION OF ARTICLES AS ELIGIBLE 
FOR PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The President may 
designate an article described in paragraph (1) 
or (3) as an eligible article under subsection (a) 
if the article meets the requirements of sub-
paragraph (B). 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—An article meets 
the requirements of this subparagraph if the 
Secretary of Commerce and the International 
Trade Commission determine, not later than 
three years after the date of the enactment of 
this paragraph, that— 
‘‘(i) the application of duty-free treat-
ment under this title to the article would 
not cause or threaten to cause material 
harm to a United States producer of the 
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same or a like article or to a United States 
supplier of inputs or components to the 
same or a like article; and 
‘‘(ii) not applying such duty-free 
treatment to the article would cause or 
threaten to cause material harm to pro-
ducers of the article in any of the countries 
described in clauses (i) through (iv) of sub-
paragraph (A).’’. 
SEC. 5. FACTORS AFFECTING COUNTRY DESIGNATION 
UNDER GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREF-
ERENCES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 502(c) of the Trade Act 
of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (6)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(8) with respect to a country that is des-
ignated as ‘Upper Middle-Income’ by the Inter-
national Bank for Reconstruction and Development 
and the International Development Association or 
that has a gross national income of at least 
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$1,000,000,000,000, the extent to which such coun-
try provides meaningful preferential market access 
to articles from countries that are ‘Least Developed’ 
(as determined by the Economic and Social Council 
of the United Nations) or are designated as an eligi-
ble sub-Saharan African country under section 104 
of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.’’. 
(b) BENCHMARKS AND PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY.—In 
making a determination of whether or not to designate 
a country as a beneficiary developing country under sec-
tion 502 of the Trade Act of 1974, or as an eligible sub- 
Saharan African country under section 104 of the African 
Growth and Opportunity Act, the President shall establish 
and publish in the Federal Register clear and consistent 
benchmarks that will be used to determine the basis of 
eligibility for a country at issue, as well as a timeline for 
regular reviews. The President shall also implement proce-
dures to ensure that the analysis and decisionmaking be-
hind any such determination is transparent to the public. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the designation 
of a country as a ‘‘beneficiary developing country’’ under 
title V of the Trade Act of 1974 on or after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
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SEC. 6. RULE OF ORIGIN UNDER GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
PREFERENCES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 503(a) 
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(a) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) RULE OF ORIGIN.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The duty-free treat-
ment provided under this title shall apply to 
any article that is the growth, product, or man-
ufacture of a beneficiary developing country 
if— 
‘‘(i) the article is imported directly 
from such country into the customs terri-
tory of the United States; and 
‘‘(ii) the sum of— 
‘‘(I) the cost or value of the ma-
terials produced in 1 or more bene-
ficiary developing countries, plus 
‘‘(II) the direct costs of proc-
essing operations performed in 1 or 
more beneficiary developing countries, 
is not less than 35 percent of the ap-
praised value of the article at the time it 
is entered. 
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‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF PERCENTAGE.— 
For purposes of determining the percentage re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A)(ii)— 
‘‘(i) with respect to a textile or ap-
parel article, the cost or value of materials 
produced in a beneficiary developing coun-
try includes the full value of any material, 
regardless of the origin of the material, if 
the material is both cut (or knit to shape) 
and sewn or otherwise assembled into such 
article in one or more beneficiary devel-
oping countries; and 
‘‘(ii) the term ‘beneficiary developing 
country’ includes the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin 
Islands. If the cost or value of materials 
produced in the customs territory of the 
United States (other than the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico) is included with re-
spect to an article to which this paragraph 
applies, an amount not to exceed 15 per-
cent of the appraised value of the article at 
the time it is entered that is attributed to 
such United States cost or value may be 
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applied toward determining the percentage 
referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii). 
‘‘(C) EXCLUSIONS.—An article shall not be 
treated as the growth, product, or manufacture 
of a beneficiary developing country by virtue of 
having merely undergone— 
‘‘(i) simple combining or packaging 
operations; or 
‘‘(ii) mere dilution with water or mere 
dilution with another substance that does 
not materially alter the characteristics of 
the article. 
‘‘(D) SETS.—Notwithstanding the other 
provisions of this paragraph, textile or apparel 
articles classifiable under General Rule of Inter-
pretation 3 of the Harmonized Schedule of the 
United States as articles put up in sets for re-
tail sale shall not be eligible for duty-free treat-
ment under this title unless each of the articles 
in the set is an eligible article for purposes of 
this title or the total value of the ineligible arti-
cles in the set does not exceed ten percent of 
the appraised value of the set. 
‘‘(E) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
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‘‘(i) DIRECT
COSTS
OF
PROCESSING 
OPERATIONS.—The term ‘direct costs of 
processing operations’— 
‘‘(I) includes— 
‘‘(aa) all actual labor costs 
involved in the growth, produc-
tion, manufacture, or assembly of 
the article concerned, including 
fringe benefits, on-the-job train-
ing, and the cost of engineering, 
supervisory, quality control, and 
similar personnel; and 
‘‘(bb) dies, molds, tooling, 
and depreciation on machinery 
and equipment that are allocable 
to the article; and 
‘‘(II) does not include costs that 
are not directly attributable to the ar-
ticle concerned or are not costs of 
manufacturing the article, such as— 
‘‘(aa) profit; and 
‘‘(bb) general expenses of 
doing business that are either not 
allocable to the article or are not 
related to the growth, production, 
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manufacture, or assembly of the 
article, such as administrative 
salaries, casualty and liability in-
surance, 
advertising, 
interest, 
and salaries, commissions, or ex-
penses of sales personnel. 
‘‘(ii) TEXTILE
OR
APPAREL
ARTI-
CLE.—The term ‘textile or apparel article’ 
means any article classifiable under any of 
the following provisions of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States: 
‘‘(I) Chapters 50 through 63. 
‘‘(II) 
Headings 
6501, 
6502, 
6503, or 6504. 
‘‘(III) Subheadings 6406.99 or 
6505.90.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the entry, or 
withdrawal from warehouse for consumption, of eligible 
articles from a beneficiary developing country on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREF-
ERENCES. 
Section 505 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
2465) is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2009’’ and 
inserting ‘‘December 31, 2019’’. 
SEC. 8. OFFICE OF TRADE AND COMPETITIVENESS FOR 
LEAST DEVELOPED AND AFRICAN COUN-
TRIES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be established 
within the Executive Office of the President an Of-
fice of Trade and Competitiveness for Least Devel-
oped and African Countries (hereafter referred to as 
the ‘‘Office’’) that will be responsible for planning, 
developing, and coordinating trade capacity building 
and private sector competitiveness programs for 
Least Developed and African countries. 
(2) LEAST
DEVELOPED
AND
AFRICAN
COUN-
TRIES DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, the 
term ‘‘Least Developed and African countries’’ 
means a qualified beneficiary sub-Saharan African 
country designated under section 112A of the Afri-
can Growth and Opportunity Act (as added by sec-
tion 2 of this Act) or a qualified least-developed ben-
eficiary country designated under section 506C of 
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the Trade Act of 1974 (as added by section 3 of this 
Act). 
(b) DIRECTOR AND STAFF.—The head of the Office 
shall be a Director of Trade and Competitiveness for Least 
Developed and African Countries who shall report to the 
President. The Director may hire staff with expertise on 
international development, foreign aid, and international 
trade. The President shall appoint the Director to be a 
member of the National Security Council. 
(c) DUTIES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than June 30, 
2010, and not less often than once every three years 
thereafter, the Director, in consultation with the 
heads of appropriate Federal departments and agen-
cies and nongovernmental organizations, donor gov-
ernments, and private enterprise located within each 
Least Developed and African country, shall submit 
to Congress a study on the private sector competi-
tiveness of Least Developed and African countries. 
(2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The study re-
quired under paragraph (1) shall include a detailed 
description for each Least Developed and African 
country that identifies the barriers that exist to— 
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(A) economic growth and poverty reduc-
tion, in part through utilization of the tariff 
preferences; 
(B) women fully participating in the for-
mal economy of each such country; and 
(C) small farmers, food producers, and 
small and medium enterprises to expanding 
their businesses in each such country, in part 
for the purpose of increasing exports. 
(d) COORDINATING
COMMITTEE.—The President 
shall establish a Trade Capacity Coordinating Committee 
for Least Developed and African Countries (referred to 
in this section as the ‘‘Committee’’) for the purpose of co-
ordinating implementation of trade capacity building pro-
grams that are carried out by Federal departments and 
agencies in Least Developed and African countries. The 
committee shall be composed of the following individuals 
or their designees: 
(1) The Director, who shall serve as the chair-
person of the Committee. 
(2) The United States Trade Representative. 
(3) The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, 
Treasury, State, and Defense. 
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(4) The head of any other Federal department 
or agency that the President determines is appro-
priate. 
(e) MISSION.— 
(1) IDENTIFICATION
AND
ASSISTANCE.—The 
President, acting through the Director and the Com-
mittee, shall provide assistance to the Least Devel-
oped and African countries to dismantle the barriers 
identified in the study required under subsection (c). 
(2) PURPOSES.—Assistance provided pursuant 
to paragraph (1) shall assist in the following: 
(A) Developing the necessary infrastruc-
ture needed to foster commerce, with a focus on 
regional integration and means to expand value- 
added production. 
(B) Improving labor conditions and en-
hancing environmental sustainability. 
(C) Addressing market barriers such as 
trade facilitation and storage of goods, and 
complying with international standards such as 
sanitary and phytosanitary principles. 
(D) Assisting small and medium enter-
prises to increase the capability and capacity of 
such enterprises. 
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(E) Enhancing economic opportunity for 
individuals facing the greatest economic chal-
lenges, such as individuals living in poverty, es-
pecially women and small farmers. 
(F) Aligning United States activities to 
synchronize with the activities of nongovern-
mental organizations, donor governments, and 
the private enterprise located within the country 
at issue. 
(3) INTERNATIONAL
CONSULTATION
AND
CO-
OPERATION.—The President, acting through the Di-
rector and the Committee, shall consult with African 
and American business persons to fully understand 
the barriers and opportunities to expanded trade and 
investment between the United States and Least De-
veloped and African countries. In doing so, the Di-
rector should consider establishing a private sector 
advisory panel that consists of small, medium, and 
large African and American businesses. 
Æ 
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