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Following the conclusion of the US-Africa Summit in Washington DC last week, it is opportune to reflect on some of the outcomes for SA and Africa. On the eve of the summit, ministers of trade from those African countries that are eligible for the trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) called upon the US to seamlessly and timeously extend Agoa for at least 15 years, without conditions. This message was reiterated in the Agoa Ministerial Forum, where the African trade ministers had an opportunity to engage with...

Growth and Opportunity in Africa Forum in coordination with the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Tuesday, August 5, 2014  [Please note - this event has concluded]   9:00 AM - 12:30 PM Cannon Caucus Room (345 Cannon House Office Building) U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Panel One 9:00 – 10:30 am Moderator: Dr. Monde Muyangwa Africa Program Director, Woodrow Wilson Center   H.E. Erastus Mwencha Deputy Chair, African Union Commission   H.E. Sindiso Ngwenya Secretary General Common Market for Eastern and...

America's market is saturated, Europe can’t get moving and China needs resources. It is no surprise, then, that Africa has held a clutch of economic summits with China, Europe and most recently the US.  The crucial determinant of outcomes for Africa will depend on bargaining power. Sim Tshabalala, the joint CEO of Standard Bank, who attended the US Africa Leaders Summit this week, said South Africa Inc had declared itself open for business and trade, and had the nous to lock down beneficial trade terms with the world’s largest...

A factory in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, is buzzing with activity. On one side, men load box after box of ladies' hooded sweatshirts destined for the US. Elsewhere, hundreds of workers cut and sew cloth, iron the finished products and put them on hangers. Even the price tag and Walmart logo are included. When the clothing got to the US, shops just had to hang them up and start to sell them, said David Cheng, managing director of TZICC Clothing Manufactures, which runs the factory. The scene is common at clothing plants across Lesotho,...

When President Bill Clinton signed the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) into law 14 years ago, he offered incentives for African countries to open their economies and build free markets, to move the continent from an aid dependency to a viable trading partner. That is why at their summit hosted by US President Barack Obama in Washington, 50 African heads of states, including our own President Jacob Zuma, smilingly reminisced about how AGOA has led directly and indirectly to the creation of millions of jobs, thus significantly...

  If the United States does not take more interest in Africa it is going to lose out, African Union commission chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Thursday. “It's in their advantage to know what's happening in Africa because if they don't come to the party eventually the party will happen without them,” she said in Washington. “Business people really know about Africa from the media and American media is not really kind on Africa. They tend to report what bleeds and leads.” The AU commission chair made reference to the...

The United States House of Representatives on Wednesday hosted an event titled “A Dialogue With African CEOs” that brought together women and minority business owners, chief executives from across Africa and US and SME entrepreneurs. The focus of the panel discussion was to examine possible business partnerships between African business and government with their American counterpart through the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) that was set up 14 years ago. Event host Gregory Meek, Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Africa Task Force...

President Jacob Zuma and Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies got a “very positive” response from three key US congressmen to their appeal for South Africa to remain part of the crucial African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) when it is renewed by next year. Zuma and his team have been lobbying hard at US President Barack Obama’s US-Africa Leaders Summit for South Africa to continue getting the duty-free access to the key US market that Agoa provides. Obama himself pledged his administration’s full support for the renewal and...

  South Africa’s State-owned freight logistics group Transnet reported on Wednesday that it had secured a R6-billion guarantee from the US Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank for the funding of diesel locomotives the company is buying from General Electric (GE). The facility was confirmed amid a robust debate in the US about the bank’s future and followed news that the 80-year-old institution provided a record $1.7-billion in financing support for US exports to sub-Saharan Africa over the past ten months. The GE locomotives form part of a...

African leaders urged the US on Monday to renew a trade benefits programme giving duty-free access to billions of dollars of African exports for 15 years, saying it would help cement trade relations and boost development in sub-Saharan Africa. President Jacob Zuma, one of nearly 50 African leaders in Washington to attend a three-day summit, said the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) when it expired next year was one of the key issues for the talks. “Almost 95 percent of South African exports receive preferential...

  South Africa has welcomed the commitment by US President Barack Obama to support the continuation and enhancement of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Obama made the remarks at the US-Africa Business Forum in Washington on Tuesday. His backing of a new Agoa term came as a pleasant surprise to many, who have been waiting to hear Obama's position on the issue. US law makers are expected to vote on the renewal of Agoa when the current commitment term expires next year. "We still do the vast majority of our trade with just...

The US has recently cut down its embassy staff in Nairobi and also pushed back funding for various projects and programmes in the country. This has impacted negatively on business and stakeholders are hoping that President Uhuru Kenyatta's presence at the ongoing US-Africa leadership forum in Washington DC will end the frosty relations between Kenya and the US. "We hope the issue of lifting travel advisories will feature prominently. We are losing a lot through cancelled tourist bookings," said Kenya Hotel Keepers and Caterers Association...

Africa is looking to the United States for help modernizing industry and combating terrorism, according to the deputy chairman of the African Union (AU). Erastus Mwencha also said AU officials are negotiating with Washington at the U.S.-Africa summit to improve the trade framework in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to include investment opportunities for American businesses and investors as the U.S. Congress readies to begin discussions on re-authorizing the law next year. He said the AU also seeks American investment that...

An Abuja-based Agriculture entrepreneur, Mrs Esta Charles-Ayede, has urged the U.S Government to remove barriers inhibiting some African countries from fully utilising the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity (AGOA). Ayede made the submission at a roundtable between local entrepreneurs in Abuja and the U.S Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Jay Williams. The discussion was held via a Digital Video Conference (DVC) between Washington D.C and Abuja. It coincided with by President Barack Obama announcement on...

US President Barack Obama said the fast growing economies of Africa represent one of the greatest opportunities for the US to extend its commercial reach and doing so requires a concerted effort by business and government. The president highlighted $33 billion (R356 billion) in commitments to Africa: $14 billion in investments by companies including General Electric and Coca Cola, $7 billion in financing to promote US exports and $12 billion for an initiative to double availability of electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. “Even as Africa...

  Trade poses a major dilemma for policymakers at this week’s U.S.-Africa Business Forum. The Obama administration and Congress have recently expanded U.S. foreign policy in Africa beyond humanitarian and health efforts, and into economic policy. But this has occurred as others countries, including China, offer enticing alternatives to American businesses. “We have a moment that is passing us by,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations African Affairs subcommittee. “[But] our relationship has...

South African president Jacob Zuma met three key US congressmen on Capitol Hill yesterday as he stepped up his efforts to win congressional approval for South Africa’s continued participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which gives exporters duty-free access to the lucrative US market. Zuma met Delaware Senator Chris Coons, the chair of the Senate foreign relations subcommittee on African affairs, Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, and Representative Ed Royce, the chairman of the House of Representatives foreign...

  President Jacob Zuma on Monday asked for the support of American business to ensure that South Africa does not get excluded from AGOA, the preferential trade programme that was enacted in 2000 to boost and diversify African trade with the US. Addressing a US-South Africa Business Investment Forum organised by the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Zuma said that for Africa to continue to prosper, South Africa had to demonstrate strong growth. Zuma's speech comes as US lawmakers prepare to vote on the extension of the African...

  The government is likely to allow some US chicken imports into the local market at lower tariffs in exchange for continued participation in the lucrative African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) preferential trade scheme. President Jacob Zuma is leading a major charge by the government and business at the US-Africa summit in Washington this week to win renewal of Agoa, which allows almost 95 percent of South African exports into the US market at zero or greatly reduced tariff rates. Yesterday Zuma urged the influential US Chamber...

Well, President Kim, Jim, thank you very, very much for your welcome. Welcome to all of you here, and I appreciate your – the substance of your comments. And I also appreciate your generous comments regarding my privilege of being here as Secretary. (Laughter.) This is a very exciting week for us here in Washington, and we are really thrilled to welcome everybody here on this particular discussion and many others that are going to take place. And I need to beg your indulgence at the beginning of my comments. I have to speak and run, so...

The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Finance and Foreign Relations Committees and House Ways and Means and Foreign Affairs Committees issued the following joint statement on the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit and the 13th Annual AGOA Forum: We welcome the African leaders to the United States on this historic occasion of the first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit and African Trade Ministers to the 13th Annual AGOA Forum Ministerial.  Congress envisioned the Summit and Forum in 2000, when it enacted the African Growth and Opportunity Act...

"The issue of extending AGOA is not in question," Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said today in a Brookings event on the new landscape for innovation and business in Africa. As the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit begins in Washington, DC this week, the Brookings Africa Growth Initiative has pulled together a high-level forum of leaders of entrepreneurs and leaders in business, government, civil society and the media to explore priorities for U.S.-Africa policy; business strategies for economic growth and development; innovation; governance; and...