Two weeks ago, our VP Willian Fanjoy sat before the U.S. Trade Representative to testify on the 2027 AGOA eligibility review — not with slides or theory, but with real trade behind him.

Over the past year, we’ve moved more than 800 tons of U.S.-grown cotton to a textile manufacturer in Mauritius under our traceable farm-to-garment program — every bale USDA gin-tagged, every garment labeled, every step auditable by CBP.

Bill’s message to the Subcommittee was simple: AGOA works, and we want it renewed long-term. But renewal alone isn’t the fix. Twenty-six years after the third-country fabric rule was written as a four-year bridge, 99% of AGOA apparel still enters the U.S. under that rule — and 80% of the value still goes to South-East Asia, not Africa, not the United States.

That’s why we asked the Subcommittee for three things:

  • Renew AGOA — long-term.
  • Phase out the third-country fabric rule for cotton apparel, so the rule rewards U.S. and African cotton content.
  • Support the Buying American Cotton Act and the Great American Cotton Plan as the domestic half of this bargain.

Real trade. Real cotton. Real jobs on both sides of the Atlantic — that’s the AGOA we’re building toward.

ORAL TESTIMONY
William Fanjoy, Vice President, US Africa Trade Desk
2027 AGOA Eligibility Review · Public Hearing, July 23, 2026 · Docket USTR-2026-0298:

Chair, members of the Subcommittee — I’m Bill Fanjoy, Vice President of the US Africa Trade Desk, a small American business in Orlando, Florida. We build, finance and manage direct trade and supply chain between the United States and Africa — we have shipped more than eight hundred tons of American cotton to African mills, who want to be globally competitive by exporting U.S.-content apparel to the United States.  Just within this last month, we have shipped U.S. feed grains to East Africa and West African cashews to Florida, where we have employed laid-off pecan roasters to complete their processing for retail stores across the U.S.  So, what we bring you today is not theory. It is trade transactions and commercial viability.

First, plainly: AGOA works. We want it renewed — long term.

In its renewal, though, we want a strengthening of AGOA’s ability to support America First – American cotton farmers, in particular, while incentivizing investment in Africa’s apparel verticality – cotton fabric manufacturing, in particular – so the benefits of AGOA increase for both Americans and Africans.

In 2000, Congress allowed a third-country fabric rule as a four-year bridge, to offer the African apparel industry temporary access to global fabric, until African mills were built. Twenty-six years later, ninety-nine percent of AGOA’s apparel enters the United States under that temporary rule, with eighty percent of the economic benefit going to China and South-East Asia, rather than to Africa or the United States.

Fabric is the most expensive, and therefore the most valuable part of a garment.  When a ten-dollar cotton shirt from Africa is sold to the United States, eight of those ten dollars goes to South-East Asia – not Africa and not the United States.

Now the good news.  Over the last year, we have exported over eight hundred tons of U.S.-grown cotton to a textile manufacturer in Mauritius, under our traceable farm-to-garment program, where every bale is traceable, USDA gin-tagged and each garment labeled with this traceability – auditable by CBP.

But why did this manufacturer and why does Africa want to buy American cotton? 

  1. To be competitive.  The American consumer wants apparel that is at least made with American cotton, even if it can’t be made in America.  Other apparel-competitive countries, like Bangladesh and Central America provide and exploit this as an advantage, so why doesn’t Africa?
  2. To demonstrate strict supply chain traceability – back to the exact bale of cotton that was used to make a single pair of denim jeans.  Americans and the U.S. Government care about what and which countries its supply supports.
  3. Because U.S. cotton is higher quality that global cotton, and therefore less costly to process.
  4. In a tariff-uncertain environment, to reduce ANY U.S. duty of in-bound apparel, based on the percentage of USDA-traceable U.S. content.
  5. To streamline supply chain and reduce Africa’s dependence on Asia. Sell American cotton directly to Africa rather than through China.
  6. To control more of the entire supply-chain, which greatly reduces future investment risk, while retaining more of the immediate economic benefits for both the United States and Africa. 

To conclude, we ask for three actions regarding AGOA renewal:

One – Renew AGOA long-term, so we can stabilize the African apparel supply to the United States and do our part to stabilize consumer prices in the United States.

Two – Phase out the third-country fabric rule for cotton apparel, structuring AGOA to reward U.S. and African cotton content and promote African investment.

Three – Support the Buying American Cotton Act and the Great American Cotton Plan as the domestic half of this bargain.

Thank you. I welcome your questions.