2025 Senate Resolution 37

Whereas, The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was enacted in May 2000 to provide eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the United States market for certain products. The program covers over 1,800 products beyond those eligible for duty-free access under the Generalized System of Preferences, a broader U.S. trade preference program. To become and remain eligible for duty-free access, countries must establish or make continual progress toward establishing a market-based economy, the rule of law, political pluralism, and the right to due process. Eligible countries must also eliminate barriers to trade and investment with the United States and enact policies to reduce poverty, combat corruption, and protect human rights; and

Whereas, A total of 49 countries are potentially eligible for the AGOA trade preferences, but the number of beneficiaries varies over time, as the President of the United States reviews each country’s eligibility on an annual basis. The first designation of eligible countries was made on October 2, 2000, by President Bill Clinton, and between 2001 and 2024, the number of eligible countries has ranged from 31 to 41. In 2024, there were 32 AGOA-eligible countries; and

Whereas, The AGOA has been amended multiple times to clarify preferential treatment terms, to modify technical standards, and, critically, to extend sunset provisions. The program had an initial expiration date of September 2008, but President George W. Bush signed the AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004 to extend the program’s operation through September 2015. In June 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, thereby extending the AGOA’s validity to its current sunset date of September 2025; and

Whereas, The United States continues to import significant quantities of goods from AGOA-eligible countries. Total AGOA imports were valued at 9.3 billion dollars in 2023 and 8.0 billion dollars in 2024. Crude oil accounted for a quarter of these imports in 2024, with Nigeria alone supplying 1.6 billion dollars in crude oil to the United States. Major categories of non-energy imports included passenger vehicles, apparel, agricultural and food products, base metals, and chemicals. South Africa remains our largest source of AGOA imports, excluding crude oil; and

Whereas, The state of Michigan engaged in over a billion dollars’ worth of two-way trade with AGOA-

eligible countries in 2024. Our state imported nearly 440 million dollars in goods from the 32 AGOA-eligible

nations in 2024, and we exported over 566 million dollars’ worth of goods to those countries. Michigan can

and should continue to take advantage of the economic growth promoted by the AGOA and create a two-way

pipeline of investment between our state and sub-Saharan Africa; and

Whereas, The United States should renew the AGOA program and expand it to include other sub-Saharan countries. The AGOA has been a central pillar of our nation’s trade and relations with sub-Saharan Africa for decades, and we should continue to use this program to foster development in the region while simultaneously promoting U.S. interests. Expanding the AGOA to include additional countries could also help Michigan businesses by encouraging these nations to reform their economic and commercial regimes, leading to stronger markets and more effective trading partners for the state of Michigan; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate, That we urge the President of the United States and the United States Congress to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act and expand the program to include other sub-Saharan African countries; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.