AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-2529
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2004-06-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: AIDS (Disease)
Access to health care
Administration of justice
Africa (Sub-Saharan)
Agricultural assistance
Agriculture and Food
Agriculture in foreign trade
Air cargo
Airports
American investments
Arts, Culture, Religion
Chambers of commerce
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Clothing
Commerce
Communicable diseases
Customs administration
Customs unions
Debt relief
Democracy
Developing countries
Dispute settlement
Diversification in industry
Economic assistance
Economic development
Economic growth
Economic integration
Economics and Public Finance
Ecotourism
Education
Elementary and secondary education
Energy
Energy development
Exports
Farmers
Federal advisory bodies
Foreign investments
Foreign trade promotion
Free trade
Freight
Freight forwarders
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Governmental investigations
Handicraft
Health
Human immunodeficiency viruses
Human rights
Import restrictions
Imports
Information technology
Infrastructure
Infrastructure (Economics)
Intellectual property
International Affairs
International cooperation
Labor and Employment
Law
Malaria
Marine terminals
Nontariff trade barriers
Peace
Pest control
Poverty
Preventive medicine
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Public health
Railroad engineering
Reciprocity
Regional economic development
Regionalism (International organization)
Risk
Road construction
Rule of law
Science, Technology, Communications
Small business
Social Welfare
Tariff
Tariff preferences
Technical assistance
Textile fabrics
Trade agreements
Trade negotiations
Transportation and Public Works
Tuberculosis
Women
Women's education
Women's employment
Women's rights

Summary:
action_date: 2004-06-16
text: 
AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004 - Declares the sense of Congress that the preferential market access opportunities for eligible sub-Saharan African countries (SSA countries) will be complemented and enhanced if those countries implement specified existing obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO). Urges such countries to participate in and support mutual trade liberalization in ongoing negotiations under WTO auspices, recognizing that such commitments may need to reflect special and differential treatment for developing countries. States that eligible SSA countries will benefit from reduction of trade barriers in other developing countries. Urges all countries to make sanitary and phytosanitary decisions on the basis of sound science.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that the executive branch, including specified Federal agencies, should enforce African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provisions relating to preferential treatment of textile and apparel articles, broadly in order to expand trade by maximizing opportunities for imports of such articles from eligible SSA countries.
 
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend duty-free treatment for AGOA articles: (1) from FY 2008 through 2015; and (2) made from material produced in former beneficiary SSA countries.
 
Defines former beneficiary sub-Saharan African country as a country that, after being designated as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country under AGOA, ceased to be designated as such a country by reason of its entering into a free trade agreement with the United States.
 
Amends AGOA to revise requirements for textile and apparel products from SSA countries receiving duty-free and other preferential import treatment, including extensions of such treatment to certain apparels.
 
Authorizes duty-free and preferential treatment for certain apparel articles such as ethnic printed fabric of an SSA country that meets certain conditions.
 
Extends preferential treatment to an article containing fibers or yarns not wholly formed in former beneficiary SSA countries (currently, the United States or one or more beneficiary SSA countries) if the total weight of all such fibers and yarns is not more than ten (currently, seven) percent of the total weight of the article.
 
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, under specified conditions, to liquidate or reliquidate as free of duty and free of any quantitative restrictions, limitations, or consultative levels any entries of certain apparel.
 
Requires the President to: (1) study each eligible SSA country, identifying sectors of its economy with the greatest potential for growth, including through export sales, and identifying both domestic and international barriers impeding such growth; (2) make recommendations on how the Federal Government and the private sector can provide technical assistance to assist that country in dismantling such barriers and promoting investment in such sectors; and (3) disseminate information to appropriate Federal agencies on each such country.
 
Requires the President to develop and implement policies to encourage the development of investment in SSA countries, particularly in: (1) infrastructure projects supporting development of land transport road and railroad networks and ports, and the continued upgrading and liberalization of the energy and telecommunications sectors; (2) establishment and expansion of modern information and communication technologies and practices to improve the ability of citizens to research and disseminate specified information; and (3) agriculture, particularly in processing and capacity enhancement.
 
Requires the President to: (1) foster improved port-to-port and airport-to-airport relationships in order to facilitate and increase trade flows between eligible SSA countries; (2) encourage the development of infrastructure projects that will help increase trade capacity and a sustainable ecotourism industry in such countries; (3) identify at least ten eligible SSA countries as having the greatest potential to increase marketable exports of agricultural products to the United States and the greatest need for technical assistance, particularly with respect to pest risk assessments and complying with U.S. sanitary and phytosanitary rules; (4) assign at least 20 full-time personnel to provide assistance to such countries to ensure that their exports of agricultural products meet Federal law requirements; and (5) convene the trade advisory committee on Africa established by Executive Order 11846 of March 27, 1975, under the Trade Act of 1974.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-06-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2004-06-16
text: Introduced in Senate