By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Six years after the last big trade bill and just two weeks before a crucial House vote on China trade, Congress is sending the White House major trade legislation to make it easier for sub-Saharan Africa and Caribbean nations to sell their goods in the United States.
"Both the administration and Congress have shown their deep commitment to a revitalized Africa," said U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, praising the rare confluence of opinion on foreign trade policy.
The legislation, which took some five years to move through Congress, passed on a 77-19 Senate vote Thursday after a House vote of 309-110 last year.
President Clinton said he was eager to sign legislation that "will encourage these nations to continue building open economies, bolster their efforts to alleviate poverty and improve long-term prospects for democracy and stability around the world."
The African diplomatic corps in Washington unanimously endorsed the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. "It makes sense out of the fact that there must be other ways beyond foreign aid. You are putting people to work and it's been proved that the magic of the marketplace can do wonders," said Chitmansing Jesseramsing, ambassador from Mauritius.
Under the bill, nations that meet certain human rights and labor standards would enjoy duty-free and quota-free status for shipments to the United States of apparel made with U.S. yarn and fabric.
Clothing made in Africa from African fabric would be allowed to rise from 1.5 percent of U.S. imports to 3.5 percent over eight years, boosting African exports of these products from about $250 million a year now to as much as $4.2 billion.
African nations where the gross domestic product is less than $1,500 a year per person, all but six of the 48 sub-Saharan nations, would have four years of quota-free benefits for apparel made with third-country fabric.
The inclusion of Caribbean nations helps level the trade playing field that tilted in Mexico's favor after the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect.
Barshefsky said it was the first major trade legislation to be approved by Congress since a 1994 bill that led to the creation of the World Trade Organization. Since then the White House and the Republican-led Congress have frequently been at odds on such issues as fast-track negotiating authority for the president, the Kyoto treaty on greenhouses gases and the chaotic WTO meeting in Seattle last year.
"This is something we should take a moment and relish," said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss. He called the bill "a significant step forward in our trade policy and a victory for free trade."
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., a senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus and a chief sponsor, said that "at last, like other ethnic groups in America, African Americans will be able to point to a special partnership that connects the United States to our ancestral homes."
Both members of Congress and the administration also said they hoped impetus from the Africa trade vote would boost the chances for passage of what is expected to be a close House vote this month on putting U.S. trade relations with China on a permanent status.
But the legislation also had its detractors, led by lawmakers from textile industry states who warned of losing American jobs, those wanting provisions to forgive African debt and others angered that the final bill dropped language making it easier for AIDS-devastated Africa to get cheaper drugs.
"Unless we get serious about reducing Africa's debt burden and fighting the region's devastating HIV/Aids crisis, any effort to stimulate trade and investment is simply an act of political theater," said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., unsuccessfully tried to get AIDS language in the bill.
Clinton responded to that omission Wednesday by issuing an executive order making clear that the U.S. government will not stand in the way of efforts by African states to get cheaper generic AIDS drugs.
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The bill number is H.R. 434
On the Net: A Senate Finance Committee summary: http://www.senate.gov/(tilde)finance/106-375.htm:
