African Free Trade Initiative Act

African Free Trade Initiative Act

This bill amends the African Growth and Opportunity Act to revise certain plan and reporting requirements relating to the President's negotiating and entering into free trade agreements with interested beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries.

The President shall develop a plan for negotiating and entering into one or more free trade agreements with 15 of the sub-Saharan African countries that are most ready for a free trade agreement with the United States.

The United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shall coordinate with the Millennium Challenge Corporation regarding countries with shared development objectives that have entered into a Millennium Challenge Compact in order to develop and carry out such plans.

USAID long-term development assistance funds for sub-Saharan Africa may be used to:

• carry out plans, including deployment of resources in individual eligible sub-Saharan African countries to assist them in the development of institutional capacities to carry out those plans; and
• coordinate U.S. efforts to establish free trade agreements in order to increase trade between the United States and sub-Saharan African countries, as well as investment in those countries.