For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 2, 2002

President Approves Tariff Preferences
Statement by the Deputy Press Secretary

On December 31, 2001, President Bush approved the designation of the following 35 Sub-Saharan African countries as eligible for tariff preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA): Benin; Botswana; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; S?o Tome and Principe; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; South Africa; Swaziland; Tanzania; Uganda; and Zambia.

As required by the legislation, this annual determination signifies which countries are making continued progress toward a market-based economy, the rule of law, free trade, economic policies that will reduce poverty, and protection of workers? rights.  By providing these countries greater access to American markets, AGOA can spur development of an economic relationship between the United States and Africa that is based on shared values and shared responsibilities in a world of free trade, free peoples, and free ideas.  The Administration is committed to AGOA's success and to seizing the important opportunities the law offers us in fighting poverty and fostering development.

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