Title 19, Customs DutiesRelease 119-110

§3739 Sense of the Congress Relating to Hiv/aids Crisis in Sub-saharan Africa

Title 19 › CHAPTER 23 — EXTENSION OF CERTAIN TRADE BENEFITS TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA › SUBCHAPTER III — ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RELATED ISSUES › § 3739

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Congress says the United States must make fighting the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa a key part of its foreign policy. The law notes that more than 21,000,000 people there have HIV and that 83% of the estimated 11,700,000 HIV/AIDS deaths worldwide were in sub-Saharan Africa. It says the epidemic is breaking up families, hurting the workforce—especially people aged 15 to 49—and damaging national economies. Lasting economic growth is needed so countries can build the resources to fight the disease. Congress also says the U.S. should push for big gains in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS to keep trade ties with those countries. It calls the crisis a global threat that needs much larger public, private, and joint efforts and new U.S. laws.

Full Legal Text

Title 19, §3739

Customs Duties, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Findings

The Congress finds the following:

(1)Sustained economic development in sub-Saharan Africa depends in large measure upon successful trade with and foreign assistance to the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

(2)The HIV/AIDS crisis has reached epidemic proportions in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 21,000,000 men, women, and children are infected with HIV.

(3)Eighty-three percent of the estimated 11,700,000 deaths from HIV/AIDS worldwide have been in sub-Saharan Africa.

(4)The HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa is weakening the structure of families and societies.

(5)(A)The HIV/AIDS crisis threatens the future of the workforce in sub-Saharan Africa.

(B)Studies show that HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa most severely affects individuals between the ages of 15 and 49—the age group that provides the most support for the economies of sub-Saharan African countries.

(6)Clear evidence demonstrates that HIV/AIDS is destructive to the economies of sub-Saharan African countries.

(7)Sustained economic development is critical to creating the public and private sector resources in sub-Saharan Africa necessary to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

(b)Sense of the Congress

It is the sense of the Congress that—

(1)addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa should be a central component of United States foreign policy with respect to sub-Saharan Africa;

(2)significant progress needs to be made in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa in order to sustain a mutually beneficial trade relationship between the United States and sub-Saharan African countries; and

(3)the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa is a global threat that merits further attention through greatly expanded public, private, and joint public-private efforts, and through appropriate United States legislation.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

19 U.S.C. § 3739

Title 19, Customs Duties

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110