ONE Applauds Congressional Passage of Provision to Boost US-Africa Trade

WASHINGTON, August 2, 2012 – ONE welcomes today’s passage in the House and Senate of an extension to a key provision of the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) that increases mutually beneficial trade ties between the U.S. and Africa and promises to lift millions of people out of poverty and into employment and prosperity.

By giving African manufacturers the freedom to purchase fabric from outside the continent to sew garments for export to the U.S. market, AGOA’s Third Country Fabric provision will save approximately 300,000 textile and apparel-related jobs which support 10 million people. It also saves U.S. taxpayers $5 million.

“We are grateful to Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), and Reps. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Sander Levin (D-Mich.) for their strong leadership on this measure,” said ONE US Executive Director Tom Hart. “ONE also applauds Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for their commitment to ensuring that this important provision did not expire.”

The Third Country Fabric provision accounts for more than 95 percent of AGOA apparel trade, which last year accounted for about $900 million. It has had a transformative effect on the economies of countries like Lesotho, Swaziland, Mauritius, Kenya and Ethiopia. Today’s vote also means that the newly independent country of South Sudan is now eligible to benefit from AGOA.

U.S. industry associations that supported the measure include: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce; The American Apparel & Footwear Association; The Emergency Committee for American Trade; The National Retail Federation; The National Foreign Trade Council; The Retail Industry Leaders Association; and The U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel.