AGOA, HOPE/HELP Advance Out of House Ways and Means Committee

The committee also voted to renew Haitian trade preferences known by their acronyms HOPE and HELP for the same time period, and with the same refund policy. That bill, championed by Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., was recommended unanimously by the committee. The Haiti preferences extension act also restores zero foundational tariffs for goods that were covered Dec. 20, 2006, but later fell out of the preference program because of revisions to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.

The House and Senate are in session next week, but then not again until early January, so the bills are unlikely to become law until some time in 2026. However, the bills could pass the House on an expedited calendar, since they are likely to draw more than two-thirds support in that chamber.

Democrats on the committee offered an amendment to the Haiti preferences bill that would rescind the 10% reciprocal tariff and prohibit any future executive tariff from applying, but all Republicans voted against it, so it failed.

Ahead of the AGOA vote, the committee debated trade policy for about two hours, with Democrats forcing several votes to curtail Trump's emergency tariffs: one that would only repeal them for AGOA beneficiaries, one that would reclaim congressional tariff-making powers. Both failed on party-line votes. Democrats also tried and failed to get support to bring back Trade Adjustment Assistance, the program that helps pay for tuition and extended unemployment for workers who lost their jobs due to foreign competition. The lack of TAA is what held up the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (see 2212140043), and the three no votes among Democrats were in protest of the omission of TAA.

Last year, two Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee said they would oppose renewing AGOA without TAA (see 2406050053).

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., introduced several of the failed amendments. He said ahead of those votes, "A clean extension cannot mean a blind extension," which he said would "risk doing more harm than good."

However, Horsford supported the bill in the end.

Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., rejected rolling back emergency tariffs on Haiti or African countries, as well as challenging the president's tariffs more broadly.

"I’m not a big fan of tariffs, I get it," Smith said, but he argued that Donald Trump's "very aggressive posture on trade … has generated positive results." He pointed to the U.K., saying that in the president's first term, the U.K. was not willing to liberalize agricultural trade as part of its free-trade agreement discussions, but once tariffs were hiked, it offered ethanol and beef market access.

The AGOA bill extends Merchandise Processing Fees for three months past their current expiration in 2031, which would be the offset for the estimated $578 million in forgone tariffs over three years, as well as $93 million in lower tariffs for Haitian exports over three years. Trade staffer Josh Snead said an informal estimate of the MPF collections for three months is $1.1 billion, so more than enough for both bills. He allowed that if the two bills did not travel together, the Haitian trade preference bill would need a new offset.

Snead also was questioned about whether the White House supports these bills. Officials have said they support a one-year renewal, and these renewals are for three years. "I don’t think they have explicitly stated three years," he acknowledged.

Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., like many members of the panel, said the committee should use the three years to work on reforms to AGOA. She said there should be clarifications of the rules of origin, and incentives for countries graduating from the program.

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., said she'd like to see the law written to improve utilization and improve congressional oversight, in addition to a smooth graduation path. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is able to remove countries from AGOA if it determines they have violated any of the eligibility requirements, and it alone decides whether they can return.

Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., said that the U.S. must offer an alternative path to African countries that are increasing economic ties with China and/or Russia.

For Haiti, he said, "HOPE/HELP advances U.S. strategic and economic interests right in our backyard in the Western Hemisphere. A fair and mutually beneficial trading relationship with Haiti, specifically focused on its textile and apparel industry, provides jobs and stability in a nation with a history of humanitarian crises. A prosperous Haiti helps improve the security of America at home."

Rep. Adrian Smith said that after the House passes the renewals, he hopes the Senate will take up the bills quickly. "Time is of the essence," he said.

He acknowledged he would have liked a "much longer extension" -- AGOA had previously had 10-year terms -- and that 10% to 15% tariffs on developing countries aren't in the spirit of the original laws. But he said many apparel products face most-favored nation tariffs of more than 30%, so to renew the trade preference "still goes a long way."

The American Apparel and Footwear Association said renewing both programs is a major win for American workers, U.S. competitors, and the factories importers rely on in Africa and Haiti.

"These programs safeguard and support 3.6 million American workers while sustaining jobs abroad and opening markets for U.S. cotton and textile exports," said AAFA's Beth Huges, vice president of trade and customs policy. "Restoring them is urgent, cost-effective, and bipartisan -- exactly the kind of practical leadership our supply chains need."