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I’m honored to speak to you tonight, both as the U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar and as an honorary Member of the Board of AmCham. I have had the great pleasure to work with AMCHAMs around the world during my career and believe that this is one of the critical relationships for the U.S. government. Central to the United States’ goal of promoting peace and prosperity abroad is encouraging good governance and economic development.  Now more than ever, countries need to cooperate as we jointly face global challenges – from the...

Over three days in December, President Joe Biden will host the second U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C.--the first head of state gathering of African leaders and a U.S. president since 2014.  The Summit, taking place from December 13-15, 2022, includes a CEO business forum on December 14 called the U.S.-Africa Business Forum (USABF) for which the Chamber is an official partner. The business forum focuses on growing the commercial partnership between the U.S. and Africa, with priority discussion topics including the...

President Biden is hosting leaders from across the African continent in Washington, DC on December 13-15, 2022, for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. The Summit will demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities. Africa will shape the future — not just the future of the African people, but of the world. Africa will make the difference in tackling the most urgent challenges and seizing the...

Sericulture or silk farming is practised in many countries, with China and India dominating the global market, accounting for over 60 per cent of the yield. An acre of land can produce silk worth Ksh1,800,000 annually and the product is considered to have a sustainable market in the European Union (EU), the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA - United States)  and Far East Markets. Kenya has a favourable climate for silk farming, as it does well at temperatures between 23⁰-28⁰C. It also thrives in high humidity areas with...

Manufactures in Kenya are banking on the pending trade deal with the US to grow the sectors’ contribution to the GDP and create jobs. The sector targets a 20 per cent contribution to economy by  2030. This will be driven by an increase in production of high quality products that will help expand supply and grow exports, the Kenya Association of Manufactures (KAM) has said. “AGOA has provided a significant market for Kenya’s textiles and apparels sector over the years, and we look forward to sustained preferential market access...

Representatives from 32 United States agribusiness firms arrived in Kenya on October 30 as part of an American government delegation scouting for trade opportunities. The US food firms are looking for new and expanded markets in Kenya for their crops. Kenya currently faces food insecurity and also wants to seal a trade deal with Americas. Nairobi has been pressured by Washington to allow access to its genetically modified (GM) food and crop products and this month gave approval to GM imports, providing a huge market opportunity for...

Kenya and the US will be taking another shot at the dragging trade talks with hopes of reaching a deal before the year 2025. This is when the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) lapses. AGOA eliminates import tariffs on goods from eligible African nations, with its coming to an end putting countries under pressure to secure a pact that will see them continue to enjoy preferential trade terms. President William Ruto’s warm relationship with the US is seen as a possible catalyst for the process, which has suffered back-to-back...

U.S. President Joe Biden revealed on Wednesday his intent to exclude Burkina Faso from a U.S.-Africa trade pact, citing a lack of progress toward protecting the rule of law and political pluralism. Biden said that Washington will terminate Burkina Faso's designation as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), starting January 2023 as it has not met"eligibility requirements." The decision follows two coups that shook the Sahel nation this year as a result of frustration over the...

President Ruto has said Kenya is ready for more trade deals with the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) program, which gives Kenya and 40 other sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the US market for over 6,000 products. Ruto, who hosted a US delegation at State House, Nairobi, on Monday, said the country has plenty more to offer the United States as a trade partner. "Kenya largely exports apparel products to the USA with potential to export more products including value-added tea, coffee, and cut flowers,"...

Representatives from 32 US agribusiness firms are set to jet into Kenya on Sunday as part of an American government delegation scouting for trade opportunities. The US food firms are looking for new and expanded markets in Kenya for their crops. Kenya currently faces food insecurity and also wants to seal a trade deal with Americas. Nairobi has been pressured by Washington to allow access to its genetically modified (GM) food and crop products and this month gave approval to GM imports, providing a huge market opportunity for American...

With the desire to bridge the nine months gap between Senior 6 vacation and university admission, Seko Designs was born. As a Year Two university student, Agnes Kitumba Nitunze, the chief executive officer Seko Designs met Elizabeth Bohannon, an American volunteer to start a journey that birthed the company.  “Seko saw that these energetic youth were idle thus some married off, getting early pregnancies while others did not see the need to further their education. As such, we sought to tap into that energy. The other thing was to...

President Ruto has said the United States has overtaken the United Kingdom to become Kenya's premier trading partner. Ruto, who spoke during the Mashujaa Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens on Thursday, said Kenya will continue strategic engagements with key development partners like the US and the UK, which has been the country’s premier trading partner for a long time. "We also remain devoted to our strategic engagements with key development partners like the United States, which is now Kenya’s premier trading partner, as well as the...

A delegation from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), along with a high-level delegation of South African business leaders and public sector representatives, visited New York this week to promote the country as a favourable investment destination to US-based institutional investors.  The South African delegation hosted the South Africa Macro Seminar in New York, where discussions focused on the importance of boosting bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two countries in the wake of the Covid-19...

At the end of September 2022, the United States overtook Uganda to be Kenya's leading export market. US ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman accredited the milestone to the ongoing agreement between Kenya and the America under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). According to Whitman, since the implementation of the Act, parallel export to the US increased drastically. "AGOA has been an amazing success story. Just recently the US was announced as Kenya's largest export market. We were number two and now we are number one and...

Africa is on the cusp of an economic transformation. By 2050, consumer and business spending on the continent is expected to reach roughly $16.1 trillion. The coming boom offers tremendous opportunities for global businesses – especially US companies looking for new markets. But unless African policymakers remove existing barriers to regional trade and investment, the continent’s economy will struggle to reach its true potential. Two major trade agreements – the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) and the African Continental...

The U.S. Meat Export Federation recently submitted comments (  see document alongside) to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on the U.S.-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership. Cheyenne McEndaffer, USMEF senior director of export services, says that USMEF highlighted several non-tariff barriers and potential trade obstacles, including concerns about Kenya's burdensome import license system, restrictions on transshipment of products and a lack of clarity on import veterinary drug residue and...

The Biden administration has been clear that none of its trade negotiations cover tariffs. That includes talks with the U.K., the EU and the Indo-Pacific region, as well as the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership talks with Kenya. In Kenya’s case, the country already has duty-free access to the United States for most of its goods under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. But the Biden administration has not said yet whether it supports renewal of that legislation, which expires in 2025. So, in comments filed with...

The pursuit of a new trade pact between Washington and Kenya is eliciting old fears on whether it could hurt adherence to obligations under the East African Community, and hence continental ambitions for more commerce. The US has confirmed it is willing to restart negotiations on a future trade pact with Nairobi once a substantive government is formed by President William Ruto. And although Washington says any trade agreements in Africa will adhere to the ambitions of more integration and trade as per the African Union, some of the...

The United States of America has expressed interest in resuming trade with the East African nation of Kenya. The resumption of trade between both nations is a welcomed development according to both parties, assuming the interest of both players is protected.  Tension surmounting between these two nations results from the potential tax that could be imposed on their businesses should they commence trade with each other.  The US has expressed its willingness to resume its trade pact with Kenya once a substantive government is...

The United States has overtaken Uganda to become the largest market for Kenyan goods, according to a report by Business Daily. Citing official data, the publication reported that Kenya’s exports to the US grew by 47 percent to Sh38.8 billion in the first half of the year, ending Uganda’s 10-year dominance as the leading export destination for Kenya-made goods. In the period under review, Ugandan consumers bought Sh36.2 billion worth of Kenyan goods down from Sh36.3 billion in the same period last year. Kenya and the US are currently...

There was agreement on the need to create a more attractive environment for American companies to invest in South Africa. These are just some of the sentiments echoed by President Cyril Ramaphosa as he concluded his official working visit to the United States at the invitation of US President Joe Biden. Ramaphosa landed on Thursday in Washington DC, in the United States of America.  The two leaders deliberated on a range of critical issues of national, regional, and global importance during their bilateral meeting, where trade,...

Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the meeting with the congressional black caucus and anti-apartheid veterans during his visit to the United States: Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Dr Naledi Pandor South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States, Ms Nomaindia Mfeketo Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Ms Joyce Beatty Spokesperson of the Rainbow Push Coalition, Prof Jonathan Jackson Friends, We are extremely grateful that our friends in Congressional Black Caucus and the...

Winning the US president’s support for a further extension of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which gives South African exports duty-free and quota-free access to the lucrative US market, will be a high priority for Pretoria. Trade, rather than the war in Ukraine, is likely to top the agenda of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday. That, at least, is how Pretoria sees it. However, Pretoria came a little closer this week to condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine,...

Kenya is currently seeking a placeholder trade partnership with the United States as negotiations for a fully-fledged free trade agreement (FTA) continue between the two countries. Outgoing Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina said she expects the new administration under President William Ruto to continue engagements with the US. “What we are currently in discussions over is the development of a strategic trade and investment partnership which is a placeholder for a full Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) in the future,” Maina said. In July,...

President Cyril Ramaphosa is the first African leader invited to the Oval Office since the release of the Biden administration’s “US Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa”. That he is meeting president Biden so soon after seeing Secretary of State Anthony Blinken attests to the importance Biden attaches to the US-SA relationship. Biden is not going to repeat the mistake of calling Ramaphosa “my point man in Africa”, as George W Bush said of Thabo Mbeki. Unspoken, however, is the administration’s conviction that without South...

Going by the Ministry of Trade and AGOA country response office statistics, the last three financial years provide a solid case for the extension of the initiative falling under the US Trade Act (legislation) and at the same time give a proper assessment of what is in store for this programme if efforts to get it right are not only consolidated, but harnessed as well. Over the last three years, most part of which, the country in particular and the globe in general, were under key and lock, resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and the...

Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, at the weekend, said the state’s garment factory will be inaugurated this year with a take off capacity to hire 2,000 direct labour. Speaking with dozens of APC youths, progressive social media influencers, and some online news publishers on Saturday, the governor said the idea is to make Kwara a hub for garment production, which can then benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) of the United States and other economic benefits.    The governor added that other...

President Biden is delivering on his commitment to make Africa a priority for the United States. Most notable is his administration’s sharp uptick in U.S. diplomacy toward the region. With visits to Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal last November, Morocco and Algeria in March, and South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda this month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has visited the continent three times in just 10 months. This frequency of outreach is a first for any U.S. cabinet official, let alone a secretary of state...

The East African Community (EAC) partner states have been challenged to increase their volume of transactions under regional and international trade agreements. The region’s private sector trade block, East Africa Business Council, said it is imperative for the region to take advantage of opportunities such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Economic partnership agreement, to advance trade within the EAC. According to the EABC chairperson, Angelina Ngalula, the region has not...

On August 11, USAID Mission Director Helen Pataki, joined by His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Trade Silvino Augusto José Moreno, His Excellency Governor of the Maputo Province Júlio Parruque, and other partners recognized the continuing successes of Mozambican exporters in 2022. [ Scroll to the bottom to view a video of the event ] This was at the second edition of the Annual Exporter Awards, a collaboration between the U.S. Government, the Investment and Export Promotion Agency (APIEX), and the Confederation of Economic...

President Joe Biden’s administration is seeking views from American and Kenyan firms on the proposed fresh free trade window as it lays grounds for a new pact. The call follows fresh trade talks Washington opened with Nairobi in July. The United States Trade Representative Office (USTR), which has been spearheading the talks, said comments received from interested parties will help the USTR as it develops negotiating objectives and positions for the agreement.   The deadline for the submission of written comments is September...

Kenya has struggled to attract long-term, capital-intensive investments under the more than two decades-Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) deal with the US largely because of the pact’s expiry clause, the Trade minister has said. Betty Maina, the Industrialization and Trade secretary, says big-ticket investors have not been keen on setting up factories for duty- and mostly quota-free exports into the expansive US market, limiting the product lines to large articles of apparel. “You don’t attract long-term investments if you don’t...

Sub-Saharan Africa plays a critical role in advancing global priorities to the benefit of Africans and Americans.    It has one of the world’s fastest growing populations, largest free trade areas, most diverse ecosystems, and one of the largest regional voting groups in the United Nations (UN).  It is impossible to meet today’s defining challenges without African contributions and leadership.  The region will factor prominently in efforts to: end the COVID-19 pandemic; tackle the climate crisis; reverse the global...

The US unveiled a new strategy to forge closer relations with Sub-Saharan Africa, while contending that China and Russia were motivated by narrow self-interests in their attempts to strengthen ties with the region. With one of the world’s fastest-growing populations, largest free-trade areas by geographical area and most diverse set of ecosystems, Africa has a critical role to play in addressing the world’s defining challenges, the White House said in a document released Monday (download it here) to coincide with secretary of state...

On his visit to South Africa, one of US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken's major highlights was his address at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa Institute on Monday. It was there where he unveiled a new US strategy for relations with Sub-Saharan Africa. Below are parts of his transcribed speech, edited for clarity: Introducing new US ambassador to SA Let me just take a moment at the start also to welcome someone else, our ambassador-designate to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, who will present his credentials to President...

Trade and customs issues are included in, but do not constitute a major component of, a new U.S. strategy toward sub-Saharan Africa announced this week by the Biden administration. However, a recent report raises the possibility that the U.S. could yet pursue trade preference program changes, trade liberalization initiatives, and other efforts to further increase trade with Africa. The strategy states that the U.S. will “build on existing programs and policies to increase U.S. investment and trade with Africa,” focusing on sectors...

Last year, the US’s Biden administration announced plans to increase two-way trade and investment between the US and Africa. The starting point was a revamp of the Trump-era “Prosper Africa initiative”. What sort of trade arrangement is the US proposing? In July 2021, the Biden-Harris administration launched the Prosper Africa Build Together Campaign. The idea was to elevate and energise the US’s commitment to trade and investment with countries across the African continent. The revamped Trump strategy includes a targeted,...

Today, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the United States to Namibia Jessica Long and representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the Namibian Government, reflected on the past six years of the Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub (USAID TradeHub).  The event in Windhoek brought together stakeholders from the Namibian market to share experiences, successes, and lessons learned in enhancing the flow of trade and capital between Namibia, South Africa, and the United...

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today announced she will host a meeting of sub-Saharan African trade ministers and senior officials on December 13, 2022.  The ministerial meeting will occur during the week of the United States-Africa Leaders’ Summit that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced last week.  The meeting will discuss expanding trade and investment relations and implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).     “The 2022 Africa Growth...

Remarks by Vice President Harris to the 2022 U.S.-Africa Business Summit As Prepared for Delivery Greetings from Washington, D.C. I want to thank the Corporate Council on Africa, the Kingdom of Morocco, and His Majesty King Mohammed for hosting the 2022 U.S.-Africa Business Summit. I am honored to participate in this opening ceremony. President Joe Biden and I recognize the critical importance of strengthening our relationship with countries across Africa. To that end, I will start with some very important news. President Biden and I are...

President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that the United States will bring together leaders from across the African continent for a major summit in December in Washington to discuss pressing challenges from food security to climate change. "The summit will demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities," Biden said in a statement. The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, scheduled for Dec. 13-15, was announced...

The United States has not ruled out more comprehensive trade negotiations with Kenya after launching a strategic trade and investment partnership with the African country on Thursday, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi told Reuters. Bianchi said U.S. trade officials viewed the agreement with Kenya as a potential model for other countries. Officials would focus in coming months on hammering out high-standard agreements in areas such as agriculture safety and digital trade standards, climate change and customs procedures. She...

Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) applauded the launch of the United States-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership, “Today’s announcement that the United States will be furthering our partnership with a key trading partner, Kenya, is a welcome advancement in our trade relationship, and I thank USTR Ambassador Tai for her leadership in launching this initiative. “Kenya is a recognized leader across the continent and an important partner of the United States. This initiative will lay...

During a virtual meeting today, United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, and Kenya's Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary, Betty Maina, launched the United States-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP).   Building on their June 13, 2022 meeting in Geneva, Ambassador Tai and Cabinet Secretary Maina agreed that their governments will pursue enhanced engagement leading to high standard commitments in a wide range of areas with a view to increasing investment;...

The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) urged the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), as U.S. brands and retailers look to diversify sourcing. While the trade agreement’s expiration is still three years away, the Washington, D.C.-based trade group believes that establishing long-term, forward-looking policy will help brands commit to new sourcing strategies with the 36 AGOA-eligible sub-Saharan African nations. “U.S. investment in the region...

The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) is urging the US Trade Representative (USTR) to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for at least another ten years, noting as companies are poised to diversify out of China, Africa is a logical place for many of them. In a letter to William Shpiece, chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee for USTR, Beth Hughes, vice president of trade and customs policy for the AAFA, says if AGOA were to be renewed this year for at least another ten years, companies would have the...

The US government on Monday started reshaping trade deals with Kenya to reflect the priorities of the Joe Biden administration, American officials said. The US and Kenya agreed to discuss an “ambitious” trade arrangement with “high-standard commitments” in key areas including agriculture, digital trade and climate change, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced on Monday. The USTR stated this after the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Kenya's Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina met on Monday...

Kenya and the US have revisited trade talks between the two countries as ministers meet at the World Trade Organization's 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva. As a next step, the two countries have agreed to work to finalise a list of areas for cooperation to deepen economic engagement. This was during an engagement between the US Trade Representative ambassador Katherine Tai and Kenya’s Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina. The two have agreed to meet again in the coming weeks to...

The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) has sought partnership with Nigerian shippers to maximally utilise the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). AGOA is a key component of US/African strategy that focuses on increasing African non-oil exports to the US. The Executive Secretary of the Abuja chapter of NACC, Ayo Salaam, disclosed that Nigerian companies had not taken advantage of AGOA because they exported mainly oil products to the US despite the availability of the programme for several years. Speaking...

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian – American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), Mr. Ayo Salam has urged Nigerian exporters, in particular, shippers to take advantage of the second window of opportunities by African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which lapses in September 2025 to advance trade and export with the United States of America. This is as he promised to assist Nigerian exporters and shoppers leverage on the 6500 export items authorized by the bilateral trading window. Mr. Salam said this at the meeting of the NACC in conjunction...