Business

US works towards seamless renewal of AGOA

The US government will work towards seamless renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which is set to expire in 2015. The program allows thousands of African products into the United States duty-free. This was indicated by United States Trade Representative Michael Froman, at the recently concluded 2013 U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“Here in Addis Ababa, we launched a formal review of AGOA, the cornerstone of U.S.-Africa engagement,”said Ambassador Froman. “Now it’s time to tackle tough and even controversial questions to determine what has worked for African exporters and U.S. businesses in AGOA, what needs improvement, and where we should take AGOA going forward.”

Elaborating about the United States’ vision for AGOA post-2015, he said, “We need to lay the foundation for AGOA 2.0, informed by the lessons of the past thirteen years, reflecting the changes in the global trading system, and driven by the ideas of today and tomorrow.”

The Forum was hosted this year by Ethiopia in partnership with the United States.

In July 2013, US President Barack Obama announced the launch of Trade Africa – a new partnership between the United States and Africa, with an initial focus on the five-country East African Community (EAC), that will increase regional trade within Africa, and expand trade between Africa, the United States, and other global markets. In his meeting with ministers from the East African Community, Froman announced new initiatives including the launch of negotiations toward a Trade Facilitation Agreement. He also announced a new initiative – Power Africa, to help Africa leverage its vast resources to meet its energy needs and increase its global competitiveness.

In 2012, total two-way trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa was valued at US$ 72 billion. Non-oil exports under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) have more than doubled since enactment of AGOA in 2001. U.S. goods exports to sub-Saharan Africa are up nearly three-fold since 2002.