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The U.S.’s trade chief plans to convene a meeting with African ministers before the end of the year to strengthen partnerships and discuss a law that provides duty-free access to the U.S. for thousands of goods from sub-Saharan nations. “It is important that we meet despite the pandemic to discuss how we can build on the successes of the African Growth and Opportunity Act,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in remarks prepared for delivery at the Corporate Council on Africa’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit Tuesday. She...

President Joe Biden is about to lose one of his main tools for getting trade agreements passed in Congress, dimming the outlook for deals already in the works with the U.K. and Kenya [See trade data below this article]. Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA, fast-track negotiating ability delegated to the U.S. president by Congress, is set to expire on Thursday. [See a FAQ guide here] That power, which was granted under the Trade Act of 1974, has typically been renewed when Biden’s predecessors wanted to pursue specific pacts. Biden...

This is an exciting time for Africa. In early January 2021, the first shipments traded under Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) preferences left Ghana bound for Guinea and South Africa. Since its signing in March 2018, the rapid implementation of the agreement raises hopes of a more inclusive and prosperous future for the continent. How global trading partners support this project could set the tone of relationships for decades to come. NEW TIMES REQUIRE A FRESH APPROACH… The Biden administration is applying a healthy dose of...

The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) will hold this year's 13th U.S.-Africa Business Summit virtually to build sustainable partnerships and opportunities between key government and private sector decision-makers across America and the African continent. With participation from over 1,000 U.S. and African business executives and government leaders, this year's CCA Summit will give your organization a seat at the table in building new pathways to strengthen the economic partnership between the United States and Africa.  The multi-day...

Government is hoping its newly revitalised strategy for the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) reaps dividends after revelations that exports by local companies under the trade deal have been at zero since 2019 end. AGOA is a trade arrangement between the US and sub-Saharan African countries, including Botswana, which runs till 2025 and provides relaxed access to the American market. From a peak of P1.8 billion in AGOA exports by local firms in 2008, the figures have been plummeting over the years as key exporting sectors such as...

“Trade, not aid.” Two key speakers promoted that slogan at a recent roundtable event hosted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee in honor of Africa Day, commemorating the launch of the Organization of African Unity. Rep. Karen Bass, California Democrat and chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Africa, global health and global human rights, stressed that, moving forward, U.S. policy toward Africa should be more about trade and investment, less about aid. “We will need to be aligned—like a lot of other countries...

In his first major foreign policy address, Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared the key priority of the Biden agenda—"a more stable, inclusive global economy" that "delivers security and opportunity for as many Americans as possible in the long term." In an irreversibly interdependent world, Africa is central to achieving this vision. Over the past decade, Africa has accounted for a third of world population growth and is now home to 15 percent of the global workforce—this will likely rise to a quarter by...

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has told a group of African-American investors who are in the country to explore investment opportunities that investing in Uganda is a ‘sure deal’ to the success of their projects because of the prevailing excellent investment environment in the country. The 16 member team was led by Senegalese-American celebrity and businessman Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam alias Akon who met the President earlier in the week before leaving his wife Rozina Negusei with the delegation which has been in the country...

Today, U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson joined Minister of Industrialisation and Trade Lucia Iipumbu to officially launch Namibia’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Utilization Strategy. The strategy seeks to increase Namibia’s exports under the AGOA program, which allows Namibia to export over 6,400 products tariff-free to the United States. This joint effort to develop the AGOA strategy is part of the United States’ efforts to expand mutually beneficial trade with Namibia. The AGOA strategy is a collaboration between the...