Strengthening the AfCFTA Act of 2022

Bill: 117-s-5154
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
Introduced: 2022-11-30
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Latest action: action_date: 2022-11-30
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-11-30
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Strengthening the African Continental Free Trade Area Act of 2022 or the Strengthening the AfCFTA Act of 2022</b></p> <p>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.</p>

tv_txt: II 117th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5154 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 30 (legislative day, November 29), 2022 Mr. Van Hollen introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To promote the African Continental Free Trade Area, and for other purposes.

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 . 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. 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. 4. 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 development aid and technical assistance from the United States 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 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 Power Africa initiative of the United States 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 trade capacity building by the United States to support the implementation of the AfCFTA, 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, or marginalized or underrepresented groups, in the negotiation and implementation of the AfCFTA. (F) Increasing trade and investment by the United States to expand African regional value chains, especially as it relates to increasing manufacturing and production in Africa 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 promoting trade and investment within those industries, especially in industries expected to grow with the implementation of the AfCFTA. (3) Biennial updates The strategy required under paragraph (1) shall be updated biennially. (4) Prior approval The strategy required under paragraph (1) and any update to that strategy under paragraph (3) may only be developed through prior consultation with, and submitted with the approval of, the Trade Policy Staff Committee. (5) Consultation In developing the strategy required under paragraph (1) and any update to that strategy under paragraph (3), 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) development agencies and entities of the United States not represented on the Trade Policy Staff Committee, such as the Prosper Africa Initiative, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the United States International 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)(4)) submit to the relevant congressional committees an initial report that includes the strategy required under subsection (a) and an implementation plan for that 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 Trade Policy Staff Committee in the implementation of the 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 report (1) In general Not later than each of 2, 4, 6, and 8 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 containing revisions and updates to the strategy required under subsection (a) and an assessment of the progress made in implementing the strategy as described in such initial report. (2) Elements Each report required by paragraph (1) shall include each of the following: (A) A description of the obligation and expenditure of all amounts made available to carry out the strategy required under subsection (a) during the preceding 2 fiscal years, disaggregated by fiscal year, account, and activity. (B) Notable successes and challenges relating to the implementation of the strategy. (C) An evaluation of the progress toward achieving the qualitative and quantitative goals and metrics included in the initial report required by subsection (b) pursuant to paragraph (5) of that subsection. (D) Any updates and revisions made to the criteria described in subsection (b)(5) and included in the initial report. (E) Updated recommendations as described in subsection (b)(6). (d) Final report (1) In general 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 of the strategy required by subsection (a) during the 10-year period preceding the date of the report. (2) Elements The report required by paragraph (1) shall include each of the following: (A) An assessment of the progress made in the implementation of the strategy required by subsection (a) during the 10-year period preceding the date of the report with respect to each of the goals described in subsection (a)(1), 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). (B) An assessment of the successes, challenges, and effectiveness of the strategy. (C) Recommended legislative or administrative 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 those challenges. (D) 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 trade policy initiatives of the United States towards Africa, including types of activities and expected outcomes based on the implementation of the strategy. (E) 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(c), 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. 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 (in this section referred to as the Program ) to support the implementation of the strategy required by section 4(a) 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. (b) Matters To be included In carrying out the Program, the Administrator— (1) may designate the Prosper Africa Initiative to administer the Program; (2) may support multi-year and renewable activities with the 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 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 Program before the start of such fiscal year. (c) 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 Program. Amounts so authorized— (1) shall be in addition to amounts otherwise authorized for existing projects, programs, and activities that support the goals of the 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 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. 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. 7. Definitions In this Act: (1) A f CFTA 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 Relations, the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. (B) The Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. (3) Trade Policy Staff Committee The term Trade Policy Staff Committee means the interagency organization established under section 242(a) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ( 19 U.S.C. 1872(a) ).