Coons: Congress should be able to ‘lay the groundwork’ to renew AGOA this year

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) on Friday said he hoped the congressional committees responsible for trade this year would -- “at the very least” -- lay a foundation for renewing the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which he calls critical to U.S. national interests. Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee and a longtime proponent of stronger trade ties with countries in Africa, earlier this year introduced a bill to reauthorize and update AGOA, a trade-preference program with countries...