FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 1999
No. TR-1
Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-IL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on U.S. trade relations with sub-Saharan Africa. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, February 3, 1999, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
BACKGROUND:
Sub-Saharan Africa consists of 48 diverse countries, many of which have undergone significant political and economic change in recent years. Since 1990, more than 25 African nations have held democratic elections. At the same time, more than 30 countries have instituted programs to replace their centralized economies with free markets under the guidance of bilateral and multilateral donors such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Despite the fact that 33 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are members of the World Trade Organization, U.S. trade with sub-Saharan African countries remains low, relative to overall U.S. trade levels.
In 1994, Congress passed the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (P.L. 103-465), which required the President to submit five annual reports to Congress on the Administration's comprehensive trade and development policy for countries in Africa. On January 13, 1999, the President submitted his fourth report pursuant to this provision of law. The report describes the progress made in the implementation of the five components of the Administration's Partnership for Economic Growth and Opportunity in Africa: enhanced trade benefits to increase
U.S.-African trade and investment flows; technical assistance; enhanced dialogue with African countries; financing and debt relief; and continued U.S. leadership in multilateral fora to support private sector development, trade development, and institutional capacity building in African countries.
During the 105th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the African Growth and Opportunity Act, H.R. 1432, which would have authorized a new U.S. trade and investment policy toward sub-Saharan Africa. The bill, which the Senate did not consider, called for the designation of countries in sub-Saharan Africa pursuing market based economic reform to participate in benefits of the bill. The legislation extended trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for countries eligible to participate in the Act, and would have authorized the President to grant duty-free treatment to non-import sensitive products from Africa currently excluded from the GSP program. In addition, the bill called for the creation of a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum to provide a regular opportunity for the discussion of trade liberalization among the eligible countries. The bill also set as a policy objective the creation of a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Free Trade Area. Furthermore, the bill would have restricted the imposition of quotas on textile and apparel products from sub-Saharan African countries eligible to participate in the Act that adopt visa systems to guard against unlawful transshipment.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Crane stated: "Last year, the House passed historic legislation to develop closer trade relations with countries in sub-Saharan Africa committed to democracy and market-based economic principles. Unfortunately, this legislation did not become law in the 105th Congress. I look forward to this opportunity to further explore how the African Growth and Opportunity Act, can promote mutually beneficial trade and investment opportunities between Africans and Americans."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
Witnesses are expected to address ways that the United States could develop closer trade relations with the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, including provisions proposed in the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:
Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Pete Davila at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Thursday, January 28, 1999. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Subcommittee on Trade will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Subcommittee on Trade staff at (202) 225-6649.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Subcommittee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether or not they are scheduled for oral testimony, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.
Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules.
In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Subcommittee are required to submit 200 copies, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, of their prepared statement for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, no later than Monday, February 1, 1999. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, February 3, 1999, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.