Trade between the US and sub-Saharan Africa is in the doldrums despite a 2000 US law designed to boost access to the US market, a conference in Ivory Coast has been told. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which in 2015 was extended to 2025, provides tariff-free access on 6,500 products to 39 countries, ranging from oil and agricultural goods to textiles, farm and handicrafts. Trade quadrupled in value from 2002 to 2008, a year...

08 August 2019

Deputy United States Trade Representative C.J. Mahoney and African Union Commission Commissioner for Trade and Industry Albert Muchanga today signed a joint statement concerning trade between the United States and the African Union at the opening ceremony of the 2019 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum.  The text of the Joint Statement is below: The United States and the African Union share a common goal of enhancing the...

08 August 2019

Bonjour tout le monde. C’est un grand honneur de conclure officiellement le Forum AGOA 2019 à Abidjan.  Tout d’abord, je voudrais remercier le gouvernement ivoirien d’avoir accueilli le forum de l’AGOA. I’m especially honored to be here alongside the Prime Minister of Cote d’Ivoire, the Honorable Amadou Gon Coulibaly. I’m always happy to come back to the continent, as I have a long and happy history living and working in...

07 August 2019

Two hundred and twenty years ago, the second US President John Adams sent an American, John Elmsie Jr, to Cape Town to serve as the first US government diplomatic representative to the Cape of Good Hope.  Elmsie’s presence was largely focused on commerce; he studied the local economy, reviewed regulations and worked to encourage US trade.   Since Elmsie’s launch of our diplomatic relations two centuries ago, the Western...

07 August 2019

The US and Africa have different views on their future trade relationship when a preferential access deal expires in 2025. US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy said in an interview Sunday his country favours bilateral trade agreements with African nations. A day later, African Union Trade and Industry Commissioner Albert Muchanga said the African Union (AU) favours a free-trade agreement with the...

06 August 2019

Deputy United States Trade Representative C.J. Mahoney delivered the following remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2019 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum: Good morning President Ouattara, esteemed Ministers and heads of delegations from our AGOA Partner Countries, Secretaries-General and Commissioners of the Regional Economic Communities and the African Union, Members of our Congressional delegation, my fellow colleagues from...

05 August 2019

The continent has the opportunity to align the new deal with plans to increase access to US markets.  The establishment of an African free-trade zone will enable the continent to speak with one voice and potentially boost exports to the US, say SA’s trade and industry minister Ebrahim Patel says. Concerns have been raised about the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) under President Donald Trump's...

04 August 2019

Details about the 2019 annual United States - Sub-Saharan Africa AGOA Forum can be viewed in the AGOA Forum section. This includes logistical details and agenda information. Come back to visit as new updates are shared.    Link: www.agoa.info/forum 

29 July 2019

Media Advisory | July 23 Briefing with Ambassador Tibor P. Nagy, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs and Constance Hamilton Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa. EVENT: Please join us on Tuesday, July 23 2019, at 8:30am EDT for a telephonic press conference with Ambassador Tibor P. Nagy, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs and Constance Hamilton, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa...

19 July 2019