[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 50 (Thursday, April 24, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page E751]]



                   AFRICAN GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. PHILIP M. CRANE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 24, 1997

  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with so many of my 
colleagues today in reintroducing legislation intended to open a new 
era of trade and investment relations between the United States and the 
countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.
  For more than three decades, the United States has supported a 
variety of foreign assistance programs designed to aid the countries of 
Sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately, traditional foreign aid alone will 
not lead to the level of economic development that we would all like to 
see on the African continent. In the long run, private sector 
investment and development must serve as the catalyst for Sub-Saharan 
African countries to compete in the global marketplace, to become self-
reliant, and to raise the standard of living for their people. At 
present, however, there is no initiative underway to engage the 
countries in Sub-Saharan Africa as business partners through trade and 
investment.
  I believe that we have an opportunity in the 105th Congress to 
fill this major gap in U.S. trade policy and in our relations with the 
region, which consists of a diverse set of 48 countries, many of which 
have undergone significant political and economic change in recent 
years. At this time, more than 30 Sub-Saharan African countries have 
taken steps, under the guidance of bilateral and multilateral donors 
such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to create 
the necessary environment to attract private sector investment. In 
addition, more than 25 nations in the region have held democratic 
elections since 1990.
  Given the changes that are taking place in Sub-Saharan Africa, I 
believe that it is appropriate for us to shift our policy toward the 
region. In particular, we must reach out to the Sub-Saharan African 
countries which have instituted programs to put their economies on the 
right track; we want them to succeed in charting a new course for their 
future. I also must note the reforms underway in Sub-Saharan Africa 
present many new trade and investment opportunities for United States 
exporters and workers, particularly in the area of infrastructure 
development. The legislation I am introducing today is designed to 
bring our private sectors together by providing the necessary framework 
to open a mutually beneficial trade and investment dialogue between the 
United States and Sub-Saharan African countries.
  The legislation being reintroduced today, the African Growth and 
Opportunity Act, calls for the negotiation of free-trade agreements 
with countries or regions in Sub-Saharan Africa that are taking 
appropriate steps to reform their economies. To help give momentum to 
these negotiations, and to focus greater attention on Sub-Saharan 
Africa by the United States private sector, the bill calls for the 
creation of a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa trade and economic 
cooperation forum. This forum will provide regular opportunities for 
policy leaders and heads of state to meet to discuss issues of mutual 
interest and to keep the trade negotiations on track.
  In addition, the bill would extend the generalized system of 
preferences [GSP] program, which provides duty-free access to the 
United States market to imports of eligible items from developing 
countries, permanently for Sub-Saharan Africa. It also would allow the 
President to designate countries in the region as eligible for 
additional GSP benefits on products currently excluded from coverage by 
the program. Recognizing that textile and apparel products development 
could result in immediate job creation in Sub-Saharan Africa that would 
not threaten existing jobs in the United States, the bill also states 
that the administration should continue its ``no quota'' policy toward 
the region on these products.
  As I again offer this legislation, I would like to take the 
opportunity to recognize significant contributions made to this 
initiative by two of my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee, 
Congressman Charlie Rangel and Congressman Jim McDermott, who worked 
with me throughout the past Congress to build a consensus. To initiate 
consideration of the issue by the 105th Congress, I have scheduled 
a hearing on this legislation in the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, 
which I chair, for Tuesday, April 29. I look forward to listening to 
the testimony that the subcommittee will receive that day and to 
continuing to work with my colleagues on a bipartisan basis to move 
this legislation forward.

                          ____________________