Members of the African diplomatic community and advocates for Africa met on Capitol Hill last week to celebrate the House Ways and Means Committee’s vote on Dec. 10 to retroactively extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through December 2028.
Signed into law in 2000 under the Clinton administration, AGOA defines the economic relationship between Sub-Saharan African nations and the United States, providing duty-free access to the U.S. market for more than 6,500 eligible products. Renewed in 2015, AGOA expired on September 30, 2015.
Members of the AGOA Alliance, who met at the Capitol Visitor’s Center on Dec. 11, included Kenya Ambassador David Kerich, co-chair of the African Union Sub-Committee on AGOA. Kerich told the gathering of ambassadors, members of the Congressional Black Caucus and business leaders that, “This time last month, we almost lost hope.”
“Everybody I met in town was saying, ‘forget about AGOA. In fact, you should think about something else,’” he continued. “And I was personally very discouraged, because in Kenya, we really have benefited from AGOA.”
Madagascar’s Ambassador to the U.S. H.E. Lantosoa Rakotomalala, co-chair of the African Union Sub-Committee on AGOA, called the gathering a “celebration.”
“The world is celebrating today the step yesterday made with [the] House Ways and Means Committee,” she said. “We are looking forward to the next step to the finish line.”
Speaking on behalf of one of the top three countries exporting to the U.S., Rakotomalala added, “We know that the benefit [of AGOA] is mutual for Africa and for America.”
Advocates acknowledge there is no guarantee that AGOA will be extended, and the future of duty-free access to the U.S. is not guaranteed. The full House and the Senate must approve the extension. Then it must be signed into law by President Donald Trump, who has frequently made disparaging remarks and issued policies that negatively impact African countries.
Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in his opening statement at the Dec. 10 hearing, that “AGOA has been the cornerstone of America’s partnership with Africa for nearly 25 years.
“At a moment when the White House is actively undermining that relationship, while fueling chaos across the continent, leveling [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] (IEEPA) tariffs on the world’s poorest countries, and trafficking in dangerous rhetoric that demeans African people, it is more important than ever that Congress show we remain committed to our allies,” Neal added.
Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.), acknowledged in his opening statement that “AGOA is a key part of how America protects our [U.S.] interest in a region important to our future.”
“Not only does the program strengthen relationships with key economic partners, it also opens the door to more customers for American farmers and producers in some of the world’s fastest-growing economies,” Smith continued. “As China continues to grow its presence around the globe, America must provide an alternative path to nations looking to tie their economic prosperity to the United States and not our adversaries.”
Kenya and Madagascar are among the top exporting African countries benefiting from AGOA. Others include South Africa, Nigeria, Lesotho, Ghana, Mauritius, Angola, and Cote d’Ivoire.
Up to 32 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have been eligible to participate in AGOA, but over time, some were excluded due to stringent and unmet requirements addressing the rule of law or human rights standards.
African countries export a wide range of African-produced products to the U.S., including crude oil, textiles, agricultural products, cut flowers, nuts, chocolate, and apparel, to name a few.
Fred Oladeinde, president, Africa Trade Development Center, thanked members of the Ways and Means Committee, as well as Adrian Smith (R-NJ), chair of the Africa Subcommittee, for their leadership in advancing the AGOA extension through December 2028, which he called “a first step in the right direction.”
“Civil society organizations have consistently advocated for its renewal, because we see firsthand how it supports economic growth, job creation and democratic development across the continent,” he said. “By extending AGOA through 2028, Congress has sent a strong signal of confidence in Africa’s potential and in the enduring partnership between the American and the African people.”
Encouraging Next Steps, Offering Calls to Action
Last week’s event celebrated the extension of AGOA, honored those who helped get the legislation from an idea to an essential program, and offered a call to action for the future.
The celebration also highlighted Rosa Whitaker Duncan-Williams, former trade negotiator, who helped write AGOA while serving as the first assistant U.S. trade representative for Africa under the Clinton administration.
Founder of The Whitaker Group— based in Northern Virginia and Accra, Ghana— Duncan-Williams continues to advocate for Africa and was responsible for organizing the gathering held on Capitol Hill. She said she was genuinely optimistic that the AGOA extension would happen.
Despite the extension, Kendra Gaither, president of the U.S.-Africa Business Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, emphasized: “We know that the fight is not over.”
“So our call to action is to continue to be vocal about the priority that we place on the reauthorization of AGOA and the initiative that we have through the AGOA Extension Act,” Gaither said.
She also encouraged guests to further their support for a country on the Island of Hispaniola– particularly considering the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement/Haiti Economic Lift Program (HOPE/HELP) Act.
“I would be remiss, as we have also supported the extension of the HOPE/HELP Act,” she continued, “if I didn’t also encourage you to include advocacy for Haiti in your ongoing conversations with Congress.”
Introduced by Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. (R-NC), the bipartisan legislation extends the HOPE/HELP Act to trade programs with Haiti for 10 years, bolsters the U.S. nearshore supply chains, and improves stability in the Caribbean.
As president of the U.S.-Africa Business Center, Gaither emphasized her commitment to the work happening across the African continent.
“In the strategic effort that we have made together in partnership, we’ll continue to ensure that AGOA and relations between Africa and the United States remain a bipartisan priority, and that there is bicameral support for this,” she said.
Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) delivered fiery remarks to alliance members, stressing his belief that “Africa’s greatest wealth is not beneath its soil.”
“It’s above its soil. It’s in the people that have to be continually invested in,” he continued. “America must learn to respect Africa not as a region of problems to be solved, but as a chorus of sovereign nations with voices and culture and visions and victories of their own. If America wishes to lead in the century ahead of us, it must walk alongside Africa, not in front of her, not behind her, but alongside of her.”
Jackson ended with a charge for all.
“As we march towards 2050,” he concluded, “we have to ask and demand a renewed respect and focus for the continent of Africa.”