---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 19:18:04 EDT
From: [log in to unmask]
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [AfricaMatters] African Growth and Opportunity its not!
The African Growth and Opportunity legislation is an Act all right. The White House and all of the bill's apologists are acting like they care about Africa. Here's the latest glimpse of the reality behind the charade:
>THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS: BUSINESS DAY
>
>(EDITOR: JIM JONES)
>
> 20000-9-29, P.17 (C) - The US Africa Growth and Opportunity Act takes effect on Monday when President Bill Clinton will announce the first tranche of countries - probably quite a large one - judged eligible for the law's trade benefits. However, few if any of the countries will immediately enjoy the expanded access to the valuable US market promised
by the legislation. A decision on which goods will qualify for duty free treatment will not be announced until December.
>
>To receive the separate textile and clothing benefits countries must still show they have "effective" customs procedures in place to prevent, say, a Cambodian exporter passing off its shipment of underpants as Kenyan to avoid US duties and quotas fraudulently. The US is asking African beneficiaries to sign a model customs agreement as a condition for their receiving benefits. It has presented this to governments very late in the day on what looks like a take-it-or-leave-it basis, leaving no room for negotiation.
>
>The act itself, to meet the concerns of the US textile industry about transhipment, does require African countries to meet quite stringent customs standards. But in drafting the model agreement sent to African
>capitals last week the interdepartmental committee charged with implementing the act appears to have set the bar even higher. African governments, for example, will be required to deny export licences to any apparel exporter that fails to provide US customs with whatever production records the latter demands. Governments will also have to ensure that clothing manufacturers
>register before they make anything for export to the US. Most will have to adopt new laws and rules to comply with the terms of the required agreement.
>
>What this means is that, in many respects, African clothing exporters are to be held to a higher standard than the one to which the signatories to the North American Free Trade Agreement hold one another. Whether, in practice, that turns out to be the case depends on the goodwill of bureaucrats and the political masters and lobbies they serve. It was
always clear the US textile industry would try to make up, as the implementing regulations were being written, the ground it lost when the law was passed. But there is a more important point. The trade benefits contained in the Africa bill were never negotiated with the beneficiaries. This has always been a unilateral, like-it-or-lump-it exercise on Washington's part. That is not to belittle the benefits on offer and what they can do for countries that seek to make the most of
them. But if Africans want a better deal they will have to negotiate it directly for themselves and not rely on the kindness of strangers.
I predict a deafening silence from the NSOA over this latest little Clinton outrage. Lets see.
-------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~>
GET A NEXTCARD VISA, in 30 seconds! Get rates
as low as 0.0% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee!
Apply NOW!
http://click.egroups.com/1/9331/14/_/192352/_/970269497/
---------------------------------------------------------------------_->
To the extent possible, please keep postings concise. Our archives are at : http://www.egroups.com/group/us-afr-network . To Post a message, send it to [log in to unmask] . Tell others to subscribe by sending a blank message to [log in to unmask] . To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: [log in to unmask]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
