The Agoa Action Coalition has petitioned U.S. Congress regarding proposed changes to the US Generalized System of Preferences program (GSP) which threaten to vitiate key provisions of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
The coalition believes that “In the name of GSP ‘modernization’, lobbyists for US apparel importers want Congress to extend to all GSP beneficiary countries duty-free tariff treatment that have previously been designated for eligible Agoa countries and a few neighboring nations in the Western Hemisphere such as Haiti in order to boost [their] garment sectors in critical need of preferential trade concessions,” according to a statement on All Africa’s website.
“From its inception, GSP has specifically excluded preferential treatment for textiles and apparel. This has given US policy makers a powerful tool to advance US goals and interests by granting exceptions designed to help selected trading partners to attract investment in their textile and clothing sectors in order to fight destabilizing poverty and grow as markets for US goods and services,” the statement said.
The coalition argues that without unique trade advantages, sourcing will quickly move out of Africa and to more efficient nations in Asia. This will have a devastating impact on Africa’s nacent textile and apparel industry.
