“NAFTA for Africa” Bill (H.R. 434)

This is no longer being updated by Public Citizen and exists for archival purposes only.

The African NAFTA bill, euphemistically dubbed the “African Growth and Opportunity Act” by its boosters, was pushed in 1999 by a coalition of U.S.-based oil and other multinational corporations. NGOs in Africa and the U.S. attacked the legislation as undermining African interests in sovereign, equitable development in order to promote U.S. corporate control of African economics and natural resources. After a heated battle, the bill narrowly passed in the House 233-186 and died in the Senate. In his January 1999 State of the Union address, President Clinton announced a major White House effort to revive this legislation, calling for Congress to quickly pass the “Africa Trade and Development” bill. On May 18, 2000 the bill was passed into law by President Clinton.

For more information on the AGOA debate, you can visit our archived pages below, or read the text of the bill here:

Hope for Africa – A Fair Trade Alternative to AGOA
House fight against AGOA
Senate fight against AGOA