HR 4221 · 112th Congress 2011–2013, ended

Increasing American Jobs Through Greater Exports to Africa Act of 2012

Fact sheet

Latest action · Apr 26, 2012 Referred to the Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedMar 20, 2012
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Increasing American Jobs Through Greater Exports to Africa Act of 2012 - Directs the President to establish a comprehensive U.S. strategy for public and private investment, trade, and development in Africa (including the Republic of South Sudan) that focuses, among other things, on: (1) increasing exports of U.S. goods and services to Africa by 200% in real dollar value within 10 years, (2) coordinating U.S. commercial interests with development priorities in Africa, (3) improving the competitiveness of U.S. businesses in Africa, and (4) encouraging a greater understanding among U.S. business and financial communities of the opportunities Africa holds for U.S. exports.

Requires the President to designate a Special Africa Export Strategy Coordinator.

Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Commerce and other high-level U.S. officials with responsibility for export promotion, financing, and development should conduct a joint trade mission to Africa.

Directs the Secretary to ensure that at least 14 total U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service officers are assigned to U.S. embassies in Africa.

Requires the Secretary to assign at least one full-time officer to the office of the U.S. Executive Director at each multilateral development bank to: (1) increase access of U.S. businesses to procurement contracts with the bank; and (2) facilitate access of such businesses to risk insurance, equity investments, consulting services, and lending provided by the bank.

Prescribes increases in the number of: (1) Export-Import Bank of the United States employees assigned to bank field offices in Africa and the United States, and (2) Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) staff needed to promote stable and sustainable economic growth and development in Africa as well as to help U.S. businesses to expand into African markets.

Directs the President to develop a plan for standardized training of all U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service officers, Department of State economic officers, and U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) economic officers with respect to Bank, OPIC, Small Business Administration (SBA), and U.S. Trade and Development Agency programs and procedures.

Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to raise the limits on the aggregate outstanding loan, guarantee, and insurance authority of the Bank for FY2012-FY2017 and each fiscal year thereafter.

Prescribes a special rule that the increase for FY2017 and each fiscal year thereafter shall be $175 billion if it is determined the increase has been effective in increasing viable loans to further U.S. exports, including to Africa. Earmarks 25% of the increase over FY2011 for loans, guarantees, and insurance for projects in Africa.

Makes $250 million of the Bank capitalization available annually for loans that counter below-market rate, preferential, tied aid, or other related non-market loans offered by other nations for which U.S. companies are also competing or interested in competing.

Expresses the sense of Congress that the Bank should use its Tied Aid Credit Fund to help U.S. companies to compete for projects in which a foreign government is using any type of below-market, preferential, or tied aid loan.

Amends the Small Business Act to require the Associate Administrator of Small Business for International Trade to work closely with the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC), among others, in maintaining a trade distribution network.

Directs the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and Bank officials to explore opportunities to negotiate bilateral, subregional, and regional agreements to encourage trade and eliminate nontariff barriers to trade between countries (including Africa), such as negotiating investor friendly double-taxation treaties and investment promotion agreements.

Cosponsors 7

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 20, 2012 to Dec 31, 2012, with 1 there on the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-ILBobby L. RushOriginalMar 20, 2012
D-WAJim McDermottMar 22, 2012
D-CAKaren BassApr 16, 2012
R-ILDonald A. ManzulloMay 30, 2012
R-ILAaron SchockJul 11, 2012
D-MNKeith EllisonJul 25, 2012
D-NYCharles B. RangelDec 31, 2012

Actions 6

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Apr 26, 2012Referred to the Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade.
  2. Apr 16, 2012Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights.
  3. Apr 16, 2012Referred to the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.
  4. Mar 22, 2012Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
  5. Mar 20, 2012Introduced in House

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 2215Increasing American Jobs Through Greater Exports to Africa Act of 2012Related billNov 13, 2012

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Mar 20, 2012Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.