House Preference Legislation Extends AGOA Third-Country Fabric Through 2025

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., formally introduced legislation to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preferences and two preference programs for Haiti on April 17. Despite expectations for a companion bill in the Senate, Finance Committee lawmakers haven’t yet followed suit (see 1504170020). The AGOA Extension and Enhancement Act of 2015, HR-1891 (here), would extend the entire AGOA program through 2025, and would also extend the program’s third-country fabric provision on an identical time scale. Apparel importers tried hard over recent months and years to include that long-term extension for the fabric provision, saying the overlapping lifespan will give more reliability to supply chains (see 14091719). The extension would also extend a regional fabric provision.