The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has granted duty-free status to sports bags and backpacks produced in least developed and AGOA countries. The decision arrived on June 30, on the eve of the July 1 deadline. Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a legislation that was approved by the U.S. Congress in May 2000, certain sub-Saharan African countries, whose list is reviewed on an annual basis, benefit from trade preferences for quota and duty-free entry into the U.S. for certain goods, expanding the benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. The change went into effect on July 1. Backpacks and sports bags imported from GSP-eligible countries will avoid tariffs of up to 17.6 percent. A decision on extending duty-free status to products from all GSP countries was said to be pending.