BIND PAC Areas of Business Interest & Aligned Policies
Interest Area I: Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
Small & mid-size businesses are the engines of the economy. As MSMEs (and a diaspora PAC), we are paying attention to the support delivered to small & mid-size businesses across the country. Under the Biden Administration (which the 2024 Kamala Harris campaign plans to continue), the following were accomplished:
- New Records for Federal Procurement Dollars Awarded to Small Businesses, Including Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs).
- In the past 4 years, Black business ownership growing at the fastest pace in 30 years
- Release of Third Annual Small Business Boom Report. The report shows the Administration has continued to make historic progress on all 35 commitments – including:
- SBA nearly doubled small dollar loans.
- Through the American Rescue Plan’s State Small Business Credit Initiative approved over $8 billion in capital support for small businesses.
- Delivered more than $250 billion to small businesses through SBA’s lending programs by the end of the decade.
- Fiscal Year 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration awarded an all-time high in federal contracts to small businesses across federal agencies. In total, a record-high of $178.6 billion, or 28.4 percent, of all contracting dollars went to small businesses.
Interest Area II: Advancements in U.S-Africa Trade
As MSMEs (and a diaspora PAC) interested in advancements in U.S – Africa trade, again we are paying attention to the policies and programs that promote U.S-Africa Trade. Under the Biden Administration (which the 2024 Kamala Harris campaign plans to continue), the following were accomplished:
- In December 2022, President Biden hosted leaders from across the African continent for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC. At the Summit, business and government leaders committed to catalyze trade and investment deals and partnerships which will create jobs and foster shared prosperity for people across the African continent and the United States.
- Since the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in December, the Biden-Harris Administration has helped close 75 new deals between the United States and African countries for a total estimated value of $5.7 billion in two-way trade and investment.
- Since 2021, the U.S. Government has helped close more than 900 deals across 47 African countries for a total estimated value of $22 billion in two-way trade and investment.
- As the Administration’s flagship infrastructure initiative, the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) is helping to advance and scale several of these public and private investments across the continent.
- Since December, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has authorized approximately $1.6 billion of transactions supporting exports to Africa. During Vice President Kamala's recent trip to the region, EXIM and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania announced an MOU to facilitate up to $500 million in U.S. export financing to Tanzania.
- Since December, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed nearly $110 million in financing to projects across the continent.
- Since December, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has funded eight feasibility studies since the Summit to advance the implementation of over $1 billion in digital connectivity, clean energy, and healthcare infrastructure projects on the continent.
- In April, Prosper Africa, in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the Africa Tech for Trade Alliance and seen the close of $274 million in long-term financing for affordable housing across West Africa.
Key Legislation: AGOA Advancements in U.S-Africa Trade
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a United States Trade Act, enacted on 18 May 2000 as Public Law 106 of the 200th Congress. The AGOA legislation has been renewed on different occasions, most recently in 2015, when its period of validity was extended to September 2025.
The legislation significantly enhances market access to the US for qualifying Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. It does that by allocating a special program indicator ('D') to approximately 6,800 tariff lines in the US tariff schedule, which allows US importers to clear such goods - sourced from eligible African countries - duty-free under AGOA.
AGOA preferences build on the US Generalized System of Preferences, which is subject to more regular Congressional reauthorization. AGOA's product coverage is also significantly more extensive than that of the GSP, and includes many products considered as sensitive. Products that are AGOA but not GSP eligible include items such as apparel and footwear, wine, certain motor vehicle components, a variety of agricultural products, chemicals, steel and many others.
Another important differentiating factor between the US GSP and AGOA is that the GSP contains different components: products that are eligible from all GSP beneficiaries (all AGOA beneficiaries are also GSP beneficiaries), and those that apply only to lesser developed country beneficiaries. The approximately 5,000 tariff lines eligible for GSP preferences are split as follows: 3,500 for non-LDC beneficiaries, and the full complement of 5,000 tariff lines for LDC beneficiaries. More details can be obtained from this Guide, and why AGOA is more advantageous than the GSP for African beneficiary countries.
The Act originally covered the 8-year period from October 2000 to September 2008, but legislative amendments signed into law by US President George Bush in July 2004 served to extend AGOA to 2015. At the same time, a special dispensation relating to apparel was extended by three years to 2007; and in December 2006 these were further extended to 2012. the apparel provisions grant beneficiary countries duty-free access to the US market under particularly favorable rules of origin.
In 2007, the apparel “abundant supply” provisions were enacted. The intention was to set requirements for local textile fabric sourcing where it was deemed that sufficient quantities were available in AGOA-eligible countries; fabric (the provisions related only to denim initially) would thus first have to be sourced locally or regionally before third country imports could be utilized in the production of denim garments. These provisions were however repealed in 2009, and lesser developed beneficiary countries may utilize third country fabric in the production of AGOA-eligible goods.
A subsequent legislative revision in September 2012 extended the apparel provisions to September 2015 to coincide with the expiry of the AGOA legislation at the time.
The apparel provisions are unique in that they grant countries defined by the legislation as “lesser developed”, being those that meet certain income thresholds (GNP < $1,500 per annum in 1998) and which have implemented a special apparel visa system, favorable rules of origin (RoO) requirements.
After completing its initial 15 year period of validity, the AGOA legislation was extended on 29 June 2015 by a further 10 years, to 2025.
BIND PAC is in support of extension of this legislation or a modified version of this legislation that meets the same goals - beyond 2025.
Learn More: https://agoa.info/about-agoa.html