Proposed Trade Bill Would Expand AGOA
Various developing countries are lining up to lobby for a new trade bill introduced in Congress that would grant duty-free and quota-free access to many apparel products and other goods made in their countries.
Congressman Jim McDermott (D–Wash.) presented the New Partnership for Trade Development Act of 2009 (H.R. 4101) to the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 18.
The bill, backed by the American Apparel & Footwear Association and the National Retail Federation, would allow duty-free and quota-free access to the U.S. market to all products from all least-developed countries.
The bill would strengthen and improve the African Growth and Opportunity Act as well as extend it for 10 years. AGOA’s third-country fabric rule would also be extended from Sept. 30, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2015.
McDermott’s bill would establish a 10-year limit on the duty-free and quota-free status of certain apparel, such as trousers, knit shirts and blouses, from Bangladesh and Cambodia.
Recently, Cambodia Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh headed a delegation that included the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, which traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby for duty-free status for their garment exports.
The trade bill has been sent to the House Ways and Means Committee.—Deborah Belgum
