AGOA

Sep 1st, 2006 10:30 AM UTC
By Virginia Simmons

There was an important editorial in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
It discussed the textile provision of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows most clothing assembled in sub-Sahara countries to enter
the U.S. duty-free. The incentive this provision provides is critical to businesses who are investing in the region, but, unfortunately, it is set to expire
in 2007.

If congress doesn’t take action to renew the textile portion of AGOA
before the end of this year’s legislative session, 150,000 Africans could lose their jobs.

You need a subscription to the Journal in order to read the full editorial , but below is an excerpt.

Wall Street Journal, August 30, 2006, Page A10

The bottom line is that if the provision on using outside fabric dies, so will Africa’s assembly industry, which is a particularly important source of jobs
for women… Africa needs whatever jobs it can get while it tries to pull itself up from the bottom rung of the ladder. Apparel assembly is making that
possible. Cutting off a source of jobs in the hope that some new industry will spring up strikes us as risk Africans can ill-afford.

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