ONE Delivers Over 250,000 Letters Calling on Congress to Renew Poverty-Fighting African Trade Legislation

Washington, DC – Today, ONE members from across the country are delivering over 250,000 letters to Capitol Hill, calling on Congress to help up to 150,000 Africans keep working and escaping the cycle of poverty through renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) “third country fabric provision”.

“What these 250,000 letters from Americans across the country are saying is simple: AGOA is fighting poverty, let’s keep it working,” said Meighan Stone of ONE. “It’s helped give Africans new tools to fight back against extreme poverty, increasing investment and creating jobs and opportunity for some of the world’s poorest people. Congress shouldn’t break for recess before renewing this provision that will help Africans continue to break the cycle of poverty”

In 2000, America created hundreds of thousands of new African jobs-the majority of them in countries where people live on less that $2 a day-by generating new trading relationships between the United States and African countries through AGOA. AGOA’s “third country fabric provision” allows for the use of fabric from anywhere in the world to produce apparel that can enter the U.S. market duty-free, enabling African businesses to grow and develop in poor communities where employment is often scarce.

If Congress doesn’t take action to renew the “third country fabric provision” before recess, apparel companies will stop placing orders in African factories, damaging one of the continent’s new industries and putting one of the most successful U.S. economic initiatives toward Africa in jeopardy.
“Congress has an incredible opportunity this week to help Africans to earn a living, feed their families, pay for health care and educate their children. It’s an opportunity for America to lead the world in the fight against extreme poverty, and it’s one that we hope they’ll take.”
Through ONE.org and working on the ground in communities, colleges and churches in all 50 states, ONE’s 2.4 million members ask America’s leaders to fight global AIDS and extreme poverty through making trade fair, debt cancellation, increasing effective international assistance and fighting corruption.

ONE: THE CAMPAIGN TO MAKE POVERTY HISTORY is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans — ONE by ONE — to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE is a coalition of over 2.4 million people and 100 of the nation’s leading relief, humanitarian and advocacy organizations. For more information, please visit: www.one.org.