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EVENT: Please join us on Tuesday, August 21 at 09:00 EDT/13:00 GMT/15:00 CAT for a telephonic press conference with State Department Economic and Business Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Trade Policy and Negotiations, Peter Haas where he will preview his travel to South Africa and Ethiopia to promote agricultural innovation, science-based regulatory policy, and increased trade.  Mr. Haas will participate as a speaker at the first ever BIO Africa Convention in Durban alongside science and trade ministers from...

The Liberia Chamber of Commerce (LCC) is urgently inviting all exporters and potential exporters of products made in Liberia to a “Pitch Your Product” meeting on today, Friday, August 17th at 3pm at the Liberia Chamber of Commerce. LCC will join the rest of the world in the upcoming African Growth & Opportunity Act or (AGOA) Expo & Trade Fair scheduled to be held in New York, the United States on September 25th – 30th, 2018, and the Liberia Chamber of Commerce is inviting local producers of...

SA could breach eligibility requirements of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) if the country proceeds with plans to implement land appropriation without compensation, South African trade union Solidarity has warned. In terms of section 104 of the act, the sub-Saharan African countries eligible for AGOA have to commit to protecting private property rights. AGOA, which came into effect in May 2000, provides trade preferences for quotas and duty-free entry to the US for certain goods. Solidarity deputy general secretary for...

Originally passed in 2000 and renewed until 2025, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a U.S. Trade Act that boosts U.S. market access for qualifying sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The program’s goal is to boost economic growth, spur development and reduce poverty in Africa. Currently, 40 SSA countries are AGOA-eligible and they remain eligible by working to improve human rights, rule of law and labor standards. The AGOA built on the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) by expanding duty-free...

Last week, the Trump administration announced the withdrawal of benefits for Rwanda to export apparel duty-free to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). This is largely seen as a response to Kigali’s decision to ban second-hand clothes in its market. However, there is a larger trend at play here. We are in an era of trade wars and serious global disagreements as to what is deemed fair, or not, in trade practice and agreements. Economic nationalism has found a new lifeline. The nationalism here refers to a situation...

Opinion Piece: The Donald Trump presidency is fast changing almost everything about the US’s role in the world and how the world is managed. No one seems to be spared from its ruthless pursuit of narrow nationalist interests. The recent decision to suspend Rwanda’s right to export duty-free to the US under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa) is meant to stop Rwanda from increasing tariffs imposed on used clothing and footwear announced more than a year ago [AGOA.info note: Only Rwanda's apparel preferences under AGOA have...

The East African Community should channel its resources to the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) as an alternative to pacts with Europe, Asia and the US.  “Africa has a lot of potential in intra-regional trade that is untapped; that is why we are exploited by the West and Asia, who offer trade deals that benefit them more than they do African states,” said Seth Kwizera, the co-ordinator of think tank Economic Policy and Research Network. “When over 40 states signed the CFTA, it was a strong...

  Presidential Proclamation to Take Certain Actions Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act and For Other Purposes  Issued on: July 30, 2018 1.  In Proclamation 7350 of October 2, 2000, the President designated the Republic of Rwanda (“Rwanda”) as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country for purposes of section 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (the “1974 Act”) (19 U.S.C. 2466a(a)(1)), as added by section 111(a) of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (the...

Today, President Donald J. Trump issued a proclamation regarding Rwanda that enforces the eligibility criteria established by Congress for trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).  This proclamation suspends the application of duty-free treatment for all apparel products from Rwanda.   “We regret this outcome and hope it is temporary,” said Deputy United States Trade Representative C.J. Mahoney. “But if the AGOA eligibility criteria are to have any meaning, they have to be...

Kenya’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives has launched the Kenya National African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Strategy and Action Plan (2018-2023) alongside Kenya’s National Export Development and Promotion Strategy.  The new National AGOA Strategy outlines actions for priority sectors to increase the country’s exports to the U.S. by 10.4 percent annually. In 2017, Kenya exported goods worth $572 million to the United States.  By 2023, the strategy projects that Kenya’s U.S. exports will reach $1,105...

Opinion piece: Concerns remain following a recently concluded two-day conclave on July 11-12 in Washington DC, in which delegates deliberated on mutually beneficial trade and investment opportunities under the banner of the 17th African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum. The forum, which brought together representatives from the US and eligible African countries to forge new strategies for deepening US-Africa trade and investment, occurred at a time when the international trade order is at a crossroads. There are doubts about the...