The American Congress has on Friday voted the Omnibus Bill, which includes a clause that will allow Mauritius to use raw materials coming from third countries which are not members of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to manufacture textile and clothing for export to the United States, APA learns here.

The bill, which gives Mauritius the same privileges as less advanced countries had already been approved by the Senate.

In a communiqué issued on Saturday in the capital Port Louis, the Prime Minister, Dr Navin Chandra Ramgoolam indicated that this is a new victory for the economic diplomacy of his government.

He added that the Third Country Fabric (TCF), as the clause is labelled, will give to the textile industry in the island a new lease of life at this difficult moment of the world economy and will give it the necessary stability for its development.

The Prime Minister added that Mauritius had already enjoyed the advantages of the TCF in November 2004 but for only one year. "But this time, Mauritius will benefit from TCF as long as AGOA exists until 2015," added the PM.

Ramgoolam further stated that in a meeting with US Senator James McDermott whom he recently met at the Democratic Party Convention in Denver in the US, he had sought the help of the Senator to influence other members of the American administration to accord to Mauritius the TCF. The Prime Minister however added that the derogation to Mauritius had been blocked up to now following protests from Lesotho.

Vigier de Latour, one of the most prominent Mauritian textile industrialists pointed out that the American market will henceforth be much easier to deal with while the textile industry is being rocked from all sides, including a fall in demand and a loss of the purchasing power of American and European consumers.

Latest AGOA Trade Data currently available on AGOA.info


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