Groups Push Back Against Petition to Remove Countries From AGOA Eligibility
The government of Uganda, as well as apparel-related trade associations from the U.S. and Africa, urged the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to keep Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda eligible for benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), after a March petition requested a review of whether the countries are meeting the statute’s requirements for preferential treatment. USTR last month announced an out-of-cycle AGOA eligibility review after the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles (SMART) Association in a March 21 petition for the review said that a March 2016 decision by the East African Community (EAC) to phase in an import ban on used clothing and footwear is imposing significant economic hardship on the U.S. used clothing industry (see 1706190017). USTR is holding a hearing on the out-of-cycle review on July 13, and accepted pre-hearing comments through June 30.
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In a joint comment (here), the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the U.S. Fashion Industry Association said the issues SMART raised can be solved without terminating AGOA benefits for the three countries, noting that they are at “the beginning stage” of undertaking needed steps to maximize AGOA and sustain economic growth. The Uganda Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Co-Operatives in its submission (here) said a tariff SMART cited as problematic isn’t discriminatory, because it is being applied “across the board” and aligns with the EAC Customs Union Protocol and complies with Uganda’s World Trade Organization commitments. Furthermore, used clothing imports “greatly undermine” Uganda’s efforts to develop and promote new items, Uganda said in its submission.
The African Cotton & Textile Industries Federation (here) said USTR in its review should consider its $238 million 2016 trade surplus with Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as the fact that exports of HTS 6309.00.00 (used clothing) compose less than 5 percent of U.S. exports to those countries, and have been declining in recent years. But SMART claimed in its submission (here) that import-curbing measures by the EAC are already hurting the exports of its member companies. Uganda in its submission said no import ban has been implemented.