Press Releases

Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) released the following statement after the Biden Administration announced it would be reinstating Mauritania to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program:

“Reinstating Mauritania into AGOA is premature and flies in the face of a worker-centric trade agenda. As the centerpiece of U.S. trade relations with sub-Saharan Africa, AGOA has not only enhanced trade, investment, and job creation throughout the continent, but also strengthened democratic institutions and workers’ rights. For years, I have expressed my deep concerns over Mauritania’s egregious practices of hereditary slavery and supported the former President’s decision to revoke its AGOA eligibility in 2018. With this week’s forum on the horizon, we must uphold the sanctity of AGOA, and so long as the inhumanity in Mauritania continues, I will oppose their reinstatement.” 

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