| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
You can increase the income of Sub-Saharan African countries by pushing for the reform of United States' most important trade program for developing countries, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
The Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives is expected to discuss the reauthorization of the GSP the week of September 11, and there is a possibility of passing key changes in the program that could mean major trade benefits for Africa. This Action Alert gives you the background to the issue, a sample letter, and other information you need to make a difference for sustainable development in Africa.
For more information, please contact Gareth Porter, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 122 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001, Tel: (202) 628-1400, Email: eesi@igc.apc.org; or Nii Akuetteh, Constituency for Africa, 1030 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20005, Tel: (202) 371-0588, Fax: (202) 371-9017.
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA BY REFORMING U.S. TRADE POLICY
TRADE CAN AID AFRICA.
Most Sub-Saharan African countries have become much poorer in the past decade, in large part because they have lost much more income from falling commodity prices and heavy debt repayments than they have received from development assistance and increased foreign investment and exports. In order to pay off their rising debts, they have been accelerating the exploitation of their forests and the conversion of their agricultural land from food crops into export crops like cotton, which often deplete the soil. These countries desperately need to diversify their economies by exporting more manufactured and processed goods, which bring in higher prices on the world market and do not deplete their natural resources.
WHAT IS THE GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES (GSP) AND WHY DOES IT NEED TO BE REFORMED?
The GSP is the primary trade policy instrument that the United States has to change this situation. It was created to encourage the economic development of poor countries by lowering or waiving tariffs on certain exports from developing countries into the United States. However, the GSP is not benefitting Sub-Saharan Africa. Of the over $15 billion in U.S. imports that enter the Unites States under the GSP annually, Africa's exports account for just one tenth of one percent.
One reason is that the present legislation exempts from receiving tariff-free treatment the manufactured goods -- such as textiles, clothing and footwear -- that African countries would be most likely to export. Thus far neither Congress nor the Clinton administration has had the political will to stand up to powerful protectionist interests such as the textile lobby.
WHAT YOU CAN DO...
Your support is urgently needed to put pressure on Congress and the Executive Branch to reform the GSP when it is reeauthorized -- probably bye the end of September. The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to discuss amendments to the GSP reauthorization legislation and approve the bill the week of September 11. Both the Chairman of the Trade Subcommittee, Rep. Phil Crane (R-Ill.), and the ranking minority member of the Subcommittee, Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) are interested in supporting amendments to the bill which would allow Sub-Saharan African countries tariff-free access to U.S. markets for textiles, clothing and footwear, thus providing an important incentive for new foreign investment in production there, and which would authorize GSP benefits for those countries for a longer period of years.
Now is the time to contact members of the committee to urge them to support changing the GSP program to benefit Sub-Saharan Africa, especially by allowing those countries to have tariff-free access to the U.S. market for articles otherwise excluded from the program. Look at the list of members of the committee below and see if your member of Congress is on the committee. If your member is on the list, telephone or send a fax message to the office as soon as possible on this issue!
[Note to non-U.S. readers: This posting is provided for your background information and for possible forwarding to those of your U.S. contacts you think would be interested.]
YOU CAN INFLUENCE THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION'S POLICY TOO!
Last December, Congress passed a law (H.R. 5110) requiring the President to come up with a new U.S. trade and development policy toward Africa. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is responsible for directing this effort, and they have just begun to work on a draft proposed Africa trade policy. The time is right for you to let the USTR know that you want them to support waiving the statutory product exemptions in the GSP. So if you fax a letter to your member of Congress, please send a copy of the letter to the President's trade representative, Mickey Kantor. (Address the letter to The Honorable Michael Kantor, U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506. Fax: 202-395-7226).
LIST OF MEMBERS OF HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE BY STATE
House Ways and Means Committee Address: 1102 LHOB, Washington, D.C. 20151
Republicans: (Tel) Fax)
California- Wally Herger 225-3076 unpublished
California- William M. Thomas 225-2915 225-8798
Connecticut- Nancy Johnson 225-4476 225-4488
Florida- E. Clay Shaw, Jr. 225-3026 225-8398
Illinois- Philip M. Crane 225-3711 225-7830
Iowa- Jim Nussle 225-2911 225-9129
Kentucky- Jim Bunning 225-3465 225-0003
Louisiana- Jim McCrery 225-2777 225-8039
Michigan- Dave Camp 225-3561 225-9679
Minnesota- Jim Ramstad 225-2871 225-6351
Missouri- Melton D. Hancock 225-6536 225-7700
Nebraska- Jon Christensen 225-4155 225-3032
Nevada- John Ensign 225-5965 225-3119
New Jersey- Richard A. Zimmer 225-5801 225-9181
New York- Amo Houghton 225-3161 225-5574
Pennsylvania- Philip English 225-5406 225-3103
Texas- Bill Archer 225-2571 225-4381
Texas- Sam Johnson 225-4201 225-1485
Washington- Jennifer Dunn 225-7761 225-8673
Democrats: (Tel.) (Fax)
California- Robert T. Matsui 225-7163 225-0566
California- Fortney Stark 225-5065 225-3805
Connecticut- Barbara B. Kennelly 225-2265 225-1031
Florida- Sam Gibbons 225-3376 225-8016
Georgia- John Lewis 225-3801 225-0351
Indiana- Andrew Jacobs, Jr. 225-4011 226-4093
Maryland- Benjamin L. Cardin 225-4016 225-9219
Massachusetts- Richard Neal 225-5601 225-8112
Michigan- Sander M. Levin 225-4961 226-1033
New York- Charles Rangel 225-4365 225-0816
Pennsylvania- William Coyne 225-2301 225-1844
Tennessee- Harold E. Ford 225-3265 225-9215
Virginia- Lewis Payne 225-4711 226-1147
Washington- Jim McDermott 225-3106 225-6197
Wisconsin- Gerald Kleczka 225-4572 225-8135
SAMPLE LETTER TO MEMBER OF CONGRESS URGING SUPPORT FOR CHANGES IN GSP TO BENEFIT AFRICA
The Honorable (name of House member)
House Ways and Means Committee
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Representative [ ]:
I urge you to support reform of the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to benefit Sub-Saharan Africa when the reauthorization of GSP is marked up in the Ways and Means Committee. The Generalized System of Preferences is supposed to help developing countries industrialize by reducing their dependence on primary commodities and increasing their manufactured exports. However, less than one-tenth of one percent of all GSP benefits go to Africa. At present, GSP does not cover most manufactured products that African countries can export. I urge that you support granting GSP benefits to all exports from Sub- Saharan African countries -- including those products otherwise exempted from GSP coverage. Congress is now cutting back sharply on development assistance to Africa. It is all the more important, therefore, to do provide new trade benefits to Africa under the GSP program.
Sincerely,
*******************************************************
Message-Id: 199509071301.GAA29571@igc3.igc.apc.org
From: "Washington Office on Africa" woa@igc.apc.org
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 1995 08:58:01 +0000
Subject: Africa Trade Policy in US Congress
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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