Congress Members, African Stakeholders Asking for a Clean AGOA Renewal
The leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, at the end of the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum, said improving AGOA should be of less importance than renewing the program ahead of September 2025. The program expires at the end of that month.
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"The timely reauthorization of AGOA is important to provide business certainty and show the United States’ continued support towards Africa’s economic growth. We are committed to working with our colleagues and our African partners to improve AGOA, but we believe the principal consideration must be ensuring a successful and timely reauthorization," said Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and ranking member Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.
Reuters reported from South Africa that the African Union's Trade Minister, Albert Muchanga, agreed with this point of view. “If there are any enhancements to be made, those should be done after the extension,” he said.
A bipartisan group of senators also pushed this perspective recently (see 2310270046). Thirteen senators asked that a vote on AGOA be scheduled before 2025.