Agoa.info - African Growth and Opportunity Act
TRALAC - Trade Law Centre
You are here: Home/News/Article/'Unique' bipartisanship marks committee action on AGOA III

'Unique' bipartisanship marks committee action on AGOA III

Published date:
Thursday, 29 April 2004

The Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) is holding a conference on 14-15 May 2004 in Maseru to address the problems currently facing the textile industry. Government officials and industrialists are expected to come from Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana and Kenya for the conference which coincides with an international trade fair.

The conference will focus on four themes: productivity, human resource management and industrial relations, compliance with customer codes of conduct and HIV/AIDS in the textile industry.

While these issues are important to the success of the garment business, conference organiser Andy Salm, who is also the Regional Textile and Apparel Specialist at ComMark, says the principal constraint on business is the declining trade advantages due to the expiry of preferential trade agreements.

Another concern is the low level of productivity in the factories. "The studies also show that some factories are operating at productivity levels of 30 to 50 percent in an industry where 85 percent productivity levels are essential to maintaining the global market position," he said.

While Lesotho enjoys duty-free access into the United States for its clothing exports under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) these preferences are under threat due to the expiry of a clause allowing Lesotho to source raw materials from non-AGOA beneficiary countries in September 2004. While experts are confident that this provision of AGOA will be extended, the delay in the extension has already hurt Lesotho’s textile manufacturers.

In Lesotho the textile industry is the largest employer, aside from the government, employing over 40 000 of the native Basotho.

Lesotho also faces a significant challenge from HIV/AIDS with infection rates and HIV/AIDS related deaths skyrocketing in recent years.

 

You are here: Home/News/Article/'Unique' bipartisanship marks committee action on AGOA III