New AGOA Bill Would Extend 3rd Country Fabric TPL, Advance South Sudan
On December 15, 2011, Senators Baucus (D-MT) and Hatch (R-UT), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and 10 co-sponsors1 introduced bipartisan legislation (S. 2007) to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act third country fabric provision to September 2015 and add South Sudan to the list of Sub-Sahara African countries.
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According to a Senate Finance Committee press release, the bill would:
Extend third country fabric provision - extend until September 2015 the AGOA provision allowing lesser developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries to export apparel made from fabric originally produced anywhere in the world, rather than from within those countries themselves or from the U.S. (i.e., the AGOA third country fabric tariff preference level sublimit).
This provision is currently scheduled to expire on September 30, 2012.
Add South Sudan to list of SSA countries - add South Sudan to the list of 48 sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries potentially eligible to qualify for AGOA duty-free access to the U.S. market for certain products, including apparel, footwear and textiles.
(AGOA authorizes the President to designate a SSA country as a beneficiary SSA country (i.e., eligible for AGOA benefits) if he determines that the country meets certain eligibility requirements.)
1The co-sponsors are Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-IN); Senator Wyden (D-OR); Senator Blunt (R-MO); Senator Durbin (D-IL); Senator Brown (R-MA); Senator Cardin (D-MD); Senator Isakson (R-GA); Senator Coons (D-DE); and Senator Thune (R-SD).
(See ITT’s Online Archives 11071415 for summary announcing introduction of House bill (H.R. 2493) to extend the AGOA third country fabric provision and to progress South Sudan.
See ITT’s Online Archives 11121420 for summary of House Trade Subcommittee Chairman’s announcement that he planned to move legislation to extend the AGOA third country fabric provision as soon as a legislative vehicle could be identified.
See ITT’s Online Archives 11121405 for summary of USTR’s discussion of the Administration’s African trade policy, including extending the TPL sublimit under AGOA for apparel made from third country fabric or yarn.
See ITT's Online Archives 11102702 and 11102619 for summaries on the restoration of AGOA eligibility to Cote d'Iviore, Guinea and Niger as lesser-developed AGOA beneficiary countries.
See ITT's Online Archives 11092717 for summary of CITA's notice announcing the fiscal year TPL and third country sublimit levels for FY 2012.)