[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 123 (Friday, August 1, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H7237-H7239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WELCOMING AFRICAN LEADERS TO FIRST UNITED STATES-AFRICA LEADERS' SUMMIT
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on
Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Ways and Means be discharged from
further consideration of the resolution
[[Page H7238]]
(H. Res. 699) welcoming African leaders to the first United States-
Africa Leaders' Summit and African trade ministers to the 13th Forum of
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and ask for its
immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 699
Whereas the United States Congress enacted the African
Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2000, with broad
bipartisan support and with a view to expanding growth and
opportunity in Africa;
Whereas in the original AGOA legislation, Congress
encouraged the establishment of more regular high-level
dialogues, including regular meetings by the President with
his African counterparts;
Whereas the people of Africa share the hopes and
aspirations of the people of the United States for peace and
prosperity, and are both committed to strengthening economic
relations;
Whereas it is in the national interest of the United States
to support the reduction of poverty in the continent of
Africa;
Whereas greater opportunities for mutually beneficial trade
and investments promote economic growth, development, poverty
reduction, democracy, the rule of law, and stability;
Whereas good governance, including respecting
constitutional term limits, human rights, and ensuring that
civil society organizations are able to function freely
contribute to enduring economic and social development in
Africa;
Whereas the countries in Africa are important economic
partners of the United States;
Whereas Africa has today 6 of the 10 fastest growing
economies in the world, over 1,000,000,000 people, 60 percent
of the world's uncultivated agricultural land, and expanding
democracies;
Whereas Africa is rich through the youth of its population,
enjoying a demographic advantage over all other regions of
the world, and is likely to replace China as the biggest
contributor to the global workforce by 2050;
Whereas it is in the economic interest of the United States
to engage and compete in emerging African markets, boost
United States-Africa trade and investment, support greater
capacity building for Africa, and invest in Africa's youth
and leadership development;
Whereas exports from sub-Saharan Africa to the United
States under AGOA have increased over three-fold from
$7,600,000,000 in 2001 to $24,800,000,000 in 2013;
Whereas United States exports to sub-Saharan Africa have
increased from $6,900,000,000 to $23,900,000,000 and United
States investment in sub-Saharan Africa has increased six-
fold;
Whereas per capita income in sub-Saharan Africa has more
than tripled to $1,624 annually since Congress first passed
AGOA, yet nearly half the population in sub-Saharan Africa
lives in poverty;
Whereas timely renewal of AGOA, which expires September 30,
2015, is critical to the maintenance and promotion of
investment opportunities in the region;
Whereas regional integration should be strengthened to
improve the full utilization of AGOA preferences, and
elimination of barriers to trade and investment in Africa,
such as high tariffs, forced localization requirements,
restrictions on investment, and customs barriers, among
others, will strengthen and improve regional and global
integration;
Whereas it remains the goal of United States policy to
support the diversification of sub-Saharan exports in terms
of products and countries that utilize AGOA;
Whereas the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
adopted several important Decisions and Declarations in Bali,
Indonesia, in December 2013, including the Agreement on Trade
Facilitation and specific results on agriculture and
development, with the protocol of amendment for the Agreement
on Trade Facilitation to be adopted on July 31, 2014;
Whereas full implementation of the Agreement on Trade
Facilitation will help to address supply-side constraints in
Africa, promote regional integration on the continent, and
facilitate integration into global supply chains;
Whereas the House of Representatives introduced on June 27,
2013, and passed on May 8, 2014, the Electrify Africa Act, to
make it a national policy of the United States to promote the
electrification of Sub-Saharan Africa to more than double the
number of people with access to power in order to improve
health and education outcomes and stimulate economic
opportunity; and
Whereas, on June 30, 2013, in Cape Town, South Africa,
President Barack Obama announced the Power Africa Initiative,
to significantly increase the number of people with access to
power in Sub-Saharan Africa: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) welcomes African leaders to the first United States-
Africa Leaders' Summit in Washington, DC;
(2) welcomes African trade ministers to the 13th African
Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum;
(3) recognizes the significant progress and hope that
modern Africa represents today in global affairs and economic
advancement with its booming demographics, increasing
modernization, dynamic youth, and vast resources;
(4) acknowledges the vast opportunities to boost cultural,
trade, and economic relations and partnerships between the
United States and Africa;
(5) recognizes the importance of renewing the AGOA program
well before its expiration in September 2015;
(6) supports studying potential changes to the program to
improve its effectiveness and utilization and exploring how
Africa can address barriers to become more attractive to
trade and investment within Africa as well as globally;
(7) encourages the prompt and full implementation of the
World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement
as one important way to address supply-side barriers and
encourage greater trade and investment in Africa; and
(8) welcomes that the African Leaders at the African Union
Summit on June 27, 2014, reaffirmed their commitments to all
the decisions the Ministers took in Bali, including
emphasizing that assistance and support for capacity building
should be provided as envisaged in the Agreement on Trade
Facilitation, and that the Agreement should be implemented in
line with the decision Trade Ministers took in Bali, which
provides that a protocol be adopted by July 31, 2014, and
definitive entry into force by July 31, 2015.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Royce
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment to the text at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the
following:
That the House of Representatives--
(1) is studying ways to improve the effectiveness and
utilization of the range of United States trade policy tools
with respect to Africa, including AGOA, and exploring how
Africa can address barriers to become more attractive to
trade and investment within Africa as well as globally; and
(2) looks forward to continuing to work with African
leaders to improve our economic and bilateral relationships.
Mr. ROYCE (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
to dispense with the reading.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The amendment was agreed to.
The resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
Amendment to the Preamble Offered by Mr. Royce
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment to the preamble at the
desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Strike the preamble and insert the following:
Whereas the people of Africa share the hopes and
aspirations of the people of the United States for peace and
prosperity, and are both committed to strengthening economic
relations;
Whereas it is in the national interest of the United States
to support the reduction of poverty in the continent of
Africa;
Whereas greater opportunities for mutually beneficial trade
and investments promote economic growth, development, poverty
reduction, democracy, the rule of law, and stability;
Whereas the countries in Africa are important economic
partners of the United States;
Whereas Africa has today 6 of the 10 fastest growing
economies in the world, over 1 billion people, 60 percent of
the world's uncultivated agricultural land, and expanding
democracies;
Whereas Africa is rich through the youth of its population,
enjoying a demographic advantage over all other regions of
the world, and is likely to replace the People's Republic of
China as the biggest contributor to the global workforce by
2050;
Whereas it is in the economic interest of the United States
to engage and compete in emerging African markets, boost
United States-Africa trade and investment, support greater
capacity building for Africa, and invest in Africa's youth
and leadership development;
Whereas in 2000 the Congress passed the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA), with broad bipartisan support and
with a view to expanding growth and opportunity in Africa;
Whereas in the original AGOA legislation, Congress
encouraged the establishment of more regular high-level
dialogues, including regular meetings by the President with
his African counterparts;
Whereas exports from sub-Saharan Africa to the United
States under AGOA have increased over three-fold from $7.6
billion in 2001 to $24.8 billion in 2013;
[[Page H7239]]
Whereas United States exports to sub-Saharan Africa have
increased from $6.9 billion to $23.9 billion and United
States investment in sub-Saharan Africa has increased six-
fold;
Whereas per capita income in sub-Saharan Africa has more
than tripled to $1,624 annually since Congress first passed
AGOA, yet nearly half the population in sub-Saharan Africa
lives in poverty;
Whereas regional integration should be strengthened to
boost economic growth in Africa, and elimination of barriers
to trade and investment in Africa, such as high tariffs,
forced localization requirements, restrictions on investment,
and customs barriers, among others, will strengthen and
improve regional and global integration;
Whereas it remains the goal of United States policy to
support the diversification of sub-Saharan exports in terms
of products and countries that utilize AGOA;
Whereas the members of the World Trade Organization adopted
several important Decisions and Declarations in Bali,
Indonesia, in December 2013, including the Agreement on Trade
Facilitation and specific results on agriculture and
development, with the protocol of amendment for the Agreement
on Trade Facilitation to be adopted on July 31, 2014;
Whereas full implementation by our trading partners of the
Agreement on Trade Facilitation will help to address supply-
side constraints in Africa, promote regional integration on
the continent, and facilitate integration into global supply
chains;
Whereas on June 30, 2013, in Cape Town, South Africa,
President Barack Obama announced the Power Africa Initiative,
to double the number of people with access to power in Sub-
Saharan Africa;
Whereas on May 8, 2014, the House of Representatives passed
the Electrify Africa Act, to make it a national policy of the
United States to support the electrification of sub-Saharan
Africa, and to direct United States agencies to devote
resources to facilitate and support the implementation of
this initiative; and
Whereas the first United States-Africa Leaders' Summit and
the 13th African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum will be
held in Washington, DC, this summer: Now, therefore, be it
Mr. ROYCE (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
to dispense with the reading.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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