Strengthening the AfCFTA Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.9364 | Sponsor: Rep. Bass, Karen (D-CA)
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance

Summary:
Strengthening the African Continental Free Trade Area Act of 2022 or the Strengthening the AfCFTA Act of 2022
This bill requires the President to direct the U.S. Trade Representative to develop a 10-year federal strategy to promote the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Additionally, the U.S. Agency for International Development must establish an AfCFTA Trade Capacity Building Program to support the implementation of the strategy.

To promote the African Continental Free Trade Area, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening the African 
Continental Free Trade Area Act of 2022'' or the ``Strengthening the 
AfCFTA Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) By 2035, the 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 Africans out 
        of extreme poverty while boosting the wages of African women 
        and unskilled workers in particular, according to World Bank 
        estimates.
            (2) According to the World Bank, the total intracontinental 
        exports from African countries would increase by 81 percent 
        under the AfCFTA. By economic sector, the AfCFTA is expected to 
        be especially important for expanding manufacturing, by 
        increasing intracontinental manufacturing exports by 110 
        percent, which will diversify African economies and decrease 
        the reliance of such economies upon extracting natural 
        resources.
            (3) The AfCFTA will also increase African manufacturing 
        exports to the rest of the world by 46 percent. As a result of 
        the AfCFTA creating 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, diversification, and 
        integration by stimulating greater trade and investment among 
        African countries and between Africa and the global trade 
        partners of Africa, notably including greater collaboration 
        with the United States;
            (2) partner with the African Union Commission, African 
        Union entities such as the African Continental Free Trade Area 
        Secretariat, regional economic communities, and other 
        intergovernmental African organizations to bolster trade and 
        investment at the regional, intracontinental, and international 
        levels;
            (3) increase opportunities for trade and investment between 
        African countries and United States businesses, including those 
        owned by members of the African diaspora, thereby contributing 
        to potential United States economic growth; and
            (4) promote the goals of the African Continental Free Trade 
        Area (AfCFTA), formed by the Agreement Establishing the African 
        Continental Free Trade Area, done at Kigali, Rwanda on March 
        21, 2018, to simplify and expedite trade and investment among 
        African countries and expand commercial opportunities for 
        underserved groups, women, and youth entrepreneurs.

SEC. 4. PRESIDENT'S STRATEGY TO PROMOTE THE AFRICAN CONTINENTAL FREE 
              TRADE AREA.

    (a) Development of Strategy.--
            (1) United states trade representative.--The President 
        shall, using existing interagency trade policy development and 
        coordination authority and mechanisms, direct the United States 
        Trade Representative to develop a 10-year Federal strategy to 
        promote the AfCFTA to achieve the following goals:
                    (A) Improving the efficacy, efficiency, and 
                coordination of United States development aid and 
                technical assistance focusing on trade capacity 
                building that is provided to African countries, 
                regional communities, and intergovernmental or 
                multinational entities, including to the AfCFTA 
                Secretariat.
                    (B) Implementing trade policy priorities of the 
                AfCFTA developed in coordination with continental, 
                regional, and country partners in Africa.
            (2) Elements.--The strategy developed pursuant to paragraph 
        (1) shall also include policy or program plans to accomplish 
        the following:
                    (A) Increasing the volume and velocity of goods and 
                services trade between African countries by improving 
                customs operations, which may include--
                            (i) providing support for increased 
                        automation or online processing of customs and 
                        cross-border trade-related tasks; and
                            (ii) supporting efforts--
                                    (I) to ensure adequate access to 
                                reliable electrical power supplies and 
                                internet access to foster 
                                digitalization where necessary; and
                                    (II) to provide paper-based or 
                                other applicable technical alternatives 
                                at border crossings where electricity 
                                or internet access is unreliable or 
                                unavailable, including in coordination 
                                with the United States Power Africa 
                                initiative where applicable.
                    (B) Expanding trade capacities and supporting 
                trade-related infrastructure development, prioritizing 
                major intra-African trade corridors.
                    (C) Supporting 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 
                        intracontinental 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 economic 
                        communities as they pertain to fostering trade, 
                        including through direct consultation and 
                        partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat.
                    (D) Improving the efficacy of United States trade 
                capacity building to support the AfCFTA's 
                implementation, as appropriate, by preventing 
                duplication of or incompatibility between the 
                assistance activities of other major donors (such as 
                nongovernmental organizations, other countries, and 
                intergovernmental organizations) and the policies and 
                projects included in the strategy.
                    (E) Enabling more effective and inclusive 
                participation of stakeholders, including those 
                representing workers, environmental sustainability, 
                women, youth, marginalized, or underrepresented groups, 
                in the negotiation and implementation of the AfCFTA.
                    (F) Increasing United States trade and investment 
                to expand African regional value chains, especially as 
                it relates to increasing manufacturing and production 
                on the continent in industries expected to grow with 
                the implementation of the AfCFTA.
                    (G) Evaluating the industries in which the United 
                States has a comparative advantage in Africa relative 
                to other countries, and promote trade and investment 
                within those industries, especially in industries 
                expected to grow with the implementation of the AfCFTA.
            (3) Prior approval and biennial updates.--The strategy 
        required by this subsection may only be developed through prior 
        consultation with, and submitted with the approval of, the 
        Trade Policy Staff Committee established pursuant to section 
        242(a) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1872(a)). 
        Such strategy shall also be updated biennially with such prior 
        consultation and pursuant to such approval.
            (4) Consultation.--In developing the strategy described in 
        this subsection, the United States Trade Representative shall, 
        as appropriate and practicable, consult with--
                    (A) stakeholders in the United States and in Africa 
                from the private sector, civil society, and African 
                diaspora;
                    (B) relevant African Union entities such as the 
                AfCFTA Secretariat;
                    (C) State, local, and Tribal governments; and
                    (D) United States development agencies and entities 
                not represented on the Trade Policy Staff Committee, 
                such as the Prosper Africa Initiative, Millennium 
                Challenge Corporation and Development Finance 
                Corporation.
    (b) Initial Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President shall (subject to the prior 
approval required under subsection (a)(3)) submit to the relevant 
congressional committees an initial report that includes the strategy 
developed pursuant to subsection (a) and an implementation plan for 
such strategy that includes each of the following:
            (1) The rationale, objectives, and anticipated manner of 
        implementation of the strategy.
            (2) The anticipated role of each agency represented in the 
        interagency in the implementation of such strategy.
            (3) A summary of the current trade capacity-building 
        programs, projects, and activities of the United States in 
        support of the AfCFTA as of the date of the submission of the 
        report, and the relationships between such programs, projects, 
        and activities and the objectives of the strategy.
            (4) Any gaps, inefficiencies, or unmet needs identified in 
        the course of preparing the summary described in paragraph (3).
            (5) Qualitative and quantitative goals and metrics for the 
        implementation of the strategy, including the criteria to be 
        used in monitoring and evaluating progress towards the 
        objectives of the strategy.
            (6) Recommendations, in consultation with the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget, relating to programmatic 
        or appropriations measures that could potentially enhance the 
        implementation of the strategy including legislative or 
        executive policy changes for such enhanced implementation.
    (c) Biennial Update and Report.--Not later than 2 years after the 
submission of the initial report required by subsection (b), and every 
two years thereafter for 8 years, the President shall submit to the 
relevant congressional committees a report containing revisions and 
updates to the strategy required by subsection (a) and an assessment of 
the progress made in implementing the strategy as described in such 
initial report. Such biennial progress reports shall also include each 
of the following:
            (1) A description of the obligation and expenditure of all 
        amounts made available to carry out the strategy during the 
        preceding two fiscal years, disaggregated by fiscal year, 
        account, and activity.
            (2) Notable successes and challenges relating to the 
        implementation of the strategy.
            (3) An evaluation of the progress toward achieving the 
        qualitative and quantitative goals and metrics included in the 
        initial report pursuant to subsection (b)(5).
            (4) Any updates and revisions made to the criteria 
        described in subsection (b)(5) and included in the initial 
        report.
            (5) Updated recommendations as described in subsection 
        (b)(7).
    (d) Final Report.--Not later than 10 years after the date of the 
submission of the initial report required by subsection (b), the 
President shall submit to the relevant congressional committees a 
report that assesses progress over the preceding decade of the 
strategy. Such report shall also include each of the following:
            (1) An assessment of the progress made in the 
        implementation of the strategy over the preceding decade with 
        respect to each of the goals described in subsection (a)(3), 
        including with respect to the qualitative and quantitative 
        goals and metrics included in the initial report pursuant to 
        subsection (b)(5) and using the criteria described in such 
        subsection (b)(5).
            (2) An assessment of the successes, challenges, and 
        effectiveness of the strategy.
            (3) Recommended legislative or executive policy changes 
        relevant to addressing any gaps, policy or program 
        shortcomings, or other outstanding challenges relating to the 
        goals of the strategy, along with descriptions of prospective 
        follow-up activities necessary to address such challenges.
            (4) Recommendations relating to fostering further synergies 
        between implementation of activities, as relevant and 
        appropriate, relating to the African Growth and Opportunity Act 
        (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), the AfCFTA, and any other United 
        States trade policy initiatives towards Africa, including types 
        of activities and expected outcomes based on the implementation 
        of the strategy.
            (5) A detailed description of the expenditure of all 
        amounts authorized to implement the strategy throughout the 10-
        year period, including amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
        authorization under section 5(b), disaggregated by fiscal year, 
        account, and activity.
    (e) Publication.--Each report required by this section shall be 
submitted in unclassified form and may include a classified annex. The 
unclassified portion of each such report shall be posted on publicly 
available websites of the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative.

SEC. 5. AFCFTA TRADE CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM.

    (a) Trade Capacity Building Implementation.--The Administrator of 
the United States Agency for International Development shall establish 
an AfCFTA Trade Capacity Building Program to support the implementation 
of the strategy required by section 4 through existing authorities 
granted by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), 
in collaboration with continental, regional, and country partners in 
Africa. In carrying out such Program, the Administrator--
            (1) may designate the Prosper Africa Initiative to 
        administer the AfCFTA Trade Capacity Building Program;
            (2) may support multi-year and renewable activities with 
        the AfCFTA Trade Capacity Building Program;
            (3) shall consult with the United States Trade 
        Representative in making programmatic decisions; and
            (4) shall receive approval from the Trade Policy Staff 
        Committee established pursuant to section 242(a) of the Trade 
        Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1872(a)) for all activities 
        for which funds are planned to be made available (including any 
        transfers to other Federal departments, agencies, or entities) 
        in a fiscal year from the AfCFTA Trade Capacity Building 
        Program before the start of such fiscal year.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034 
for the United States Agency for International Development to carry out 
the AfCFTA Trade Capacity Building Program described in subsection (a). 
Amounts so authorized--
            (1) shall be in addition to amounts otherwise authorized 
        for existing projects, programs, and activities that support 
        the goals of such Program;
            (2) may also be made available for consulting or technical 
        services, equipment, new personnel, or other project-related 
        administrative expenses associated with the development, 
        implementation, and reporting requirements of the President's 
        strategy required by section 4(a); and
            (3) are authorized to be transferred from the United States 
        Agency for International Development to other appropriate 
        Federal departments or agencies to the extent provided in 
        advance by appropriations Acts.

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act may be construed to--
            (1) limit any authority or responsibility of the United 
        States Trade Representative relating to the establishment or 
        implementation of the trade policies of the United States 
        (including under section 141 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
        U.S.C. 2171)); or
            (2) transfer any such authority or responsibility to the 
        Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
        Development.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) AfCFTA.--The term ``AfCFTA'' means the African 
        Continental Free Trade Area authorized to be created under the 
        Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, 
        adopted by its African Union signatories in Kigali, Rwanda, on 
        March 21, 2018.
            (2) Relevant congressional committees.--The term ``relevant 
        congressional committees'' means the following:
                    (A) The Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee 
                on Ways and Means, and the Committee on Appropriations 
                of the House of Representatives.
                    (B) The Committee on Foreign Relations, the 
                Committee on Finance, and the Committee on 
                Appropriations of the Senate.
                                 <all>