A bipartisan group of senators will introduce a bill to renew the United States’ trade pact with sub-Saharan Africa ahead of its expiration next year, an aide to one of the senators said on Thursday.
The bill was introduced by Senators Chris Coons, a Democrat, and James Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A cross-party group of senators – Dick Durbin, Michael Bennet, Chris van Hollen, Todd Young and Mike Rounds – are also co-sponsoring the bill.
An aide to Coons said it was a high priority to reauthorize the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) this year.
The bill, which was seen exclusively by Reuters, would renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act for 16 years, through 2041, and help countries implement strategies to take advantage of the program.
It would also maintain benefits for countries as they grow richer, enabling them to remain in the program if they are determined to be high-income for five years rather than removing them if they reach that threshold for a single year.
Under the bill, countries would be reviewed for eligibility every other year – instead of annually, under current statute – but the U.S. president and certain congressional leaders could review countries’ eligibility out of cycle at any point.
If countries were found to be ineligible for the program, the president would have a menu of options for enforcement ranging from full termination of benefits to taking no action. Current statute requires the president to terminate AGOA benefits if a country does not meet eligibility.
