SanMar General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Melissa Nelson, recently testified before the U.S. Senate in support of renewing the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

“The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides duty-free treatment to goods of designated sub-Saharan African countries (SSAs),” as shared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “The program dates from 2000 and has the goal of promoting economic growth through good governance and free markets.” It does cover both textile and non-textile goods, and around 5,240 tariff items are eligible for AGOA benefits.

Her testimony emphasized the critical role of AGOA in driving economic growth for the apparel industry and creating jobs to alleviate poverty in Africa. Please find the details of her testimony linked here under “witnesses.”

“You may not have heard of SanMar, but if you have ever helped your daughter put on a T-shirt for her first soccer game or put on a sweatshirt and hat to cheer on your son at his football game, or walked in a pink shirt with hundreds of your friends to help find a cure for breast cancer, you may have come across one of our products,” Nelson said in the beginning of her testimony.

Other key takeaways from her testimony include:

  • SanMar’s apparel production in five AGOA countries (Tanzania, Madagascar, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Kenya) provides jobs for over 9,000 Africans.
    • 70% to 80% of the workers manufacturing products for SanMar are women.
  • SanMar first began sourcing apparel from sub-Saharan Africa in 2009.
  • Many potential investments in AGOA countries are on hold because the program is close to expiration. It’s a common discussion among apparel manufacturers who source from AGOA countries. There is potential in vertical integration, but no one will invest when the benefits of AGOA could expire before a return on investment.
  • As more companies look to diversify their sourcing base and move production away from China, sub-Saharan Africa and GSP countries stand to gain from this demand, but only if AGOA is quickly renewed for a long period and GSP reauthorized with reimbursement.

The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with Apparelist. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Apparelist.