[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 49 (Tuesday, April 28, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  WE SHOULD PASS THE AFRICA TRADE BILL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 28, 1998

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, ``We Should Pass the Africa Bill,'' an 
editorial written by Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana was printed in 
the Wednesday, April 22, 1998, edition of the Washington Post. In the 
article Mr. Lugar describes the broad support for the Africa Growth and 
Opportunity Act, which included: House leadership, the Clinton 
administration, the business community and the African diplomatic 
corps, and led to the passage of this historic legislation by the House 
of Representatives on March 11, 1998. Mr. Speaker, I am entering for 
the Record the editorial written by Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana.

                     We Should Pass the Africa Bill

                           (By Richard Lugar)

       Last month the House of Representatives approved the 
     African Growth and Opportunity Act on a bipartisan vote of 
     233 to 186. The bill commanded support from the House 
     leadership, the Clinton administration, the business 
     community, the African diplomatic corps and representatives 
     from all sides of the political spectrum. Action on the bill 
     now shifts to the Senate, where the Finance Committee has 
     jurisdiction. Enactment of this bill will signal a dramatic 
     and constructive turning point in U.S.-African relations and 
     mark a historic moment in our ties with the states of sub-
     Saharan Africa.
       Last year I introduced S. 778, the Senate version of the 
     original House bill. I took that initiative because I 
     believed the United States must seize the opportunity 
     presented by the end of the Cold War and the fundamental 
     changes already underway in Africa. We should reinforce 
     efforts to promote economic growth and stability and to 
     provide new opportunities for American investors and trade.
       The bill seeks to promote economic growth in Africa through 
     enhanced private-sector activity and trade incentives for 
     countries making serious and verifiable economic and 
     political reforms. It seeks to reorient U.S. Africa policy 
     from being based largely on foreign assistance to being based 
     on increased trade, investment, self-help and serious 
     engagement. It is a modest bill that requires no new public 
     appropriations, but it could provide substantial economic 
     opportunities for the United States and African societies.
       Two years ago, as I campaigned in the Republican 
     presidential primaries, I spoke on the need for a positive 
     and coherent American policy toward Africa. These remarks 
     came as surprise to many; some responded with bewilderment. 
     They asked why a Republican presidential candidate would talk 
     about Africa. The answer lies, in part, with the underlying 
     rationale behind the African Growth and Opportunity Act, 
     namely that the United States should elevate its policy 
     toward Africa to a level commensurate with Africa's 
     growing importance.
       Sub-Saharan Africa can be a new frontier for American 
     trade, investment and economic development. It can be a 
     frontier for the expansion of democracy and market-based 
     economies. It can be a frontier for cooperation in dealing 
     with strategic global problems relating to narcotics, 
     international crime, terrorism, infectious diseases and the 
     environment. Success on each of these foreign policy 
     priorities is important to the United States and to African 
     societies, and it can best be achieved in an Africa that is 
     economically open and politically more accountable and 
     transparent. But this will not happen soon or without 
     tremendous cooperative effort.
       Beyond the promise of more prosperity and more stability on 
     the continent, the Africa bill encourages African countries 
     to undertake fundamental political and economic reforms in 
     order to qualify for the trade and investment incentives. It 
     places the burden on African leaders to take initiatives to 
     help themselves. Many have already done so. Those countries 
     that engage in gross violations of human rights, fail to 
     eliminate trade and investment barriers or to improve fiscal 
     policies, or that reject good governance and rule-of-law 
     standards, would not be eligible for duty-free treatment of 
     products under the Generalized System of Preferences, 
     participation in debt reduction programs, projects managed by 
     the Overseas Private Investment Corp., or other trade and 
     investment programs in the bill.
       No one can argue that this legislation will transform 
     Africa overnight. But as Africa develops economically, we 
     will benefit by assisting in that growth as new markets 
     develop and mature. Indeed, U.S. exports to sub-Saharan 
     Africa have increased by some 14 percent over the past two 
     years, and bilateral trade now exceeds trade with all the 
     states of the former Soviet Union.
       The Africa bill is one of those rare pieces of legislation 
     that has not been inspired by dire crisis, imminent threat or 
     strong domestic pressure. It emerged from the realization 
     that Africa has long been a neglected region of the world and 
     that this neglect does not serve U.S. interests. The bill is 
     visionary in that it acknowledges that Africa is changing, 
     that the United States wants to be a partner in that change, 
     and that we wish to share in Africa's better future. If the 
     United States is a major player in Africa's economic and 
     political transition, we will also be a major beneficiary.

     

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