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At first glance Burundi and Ethiopia look like total opposites. Burundi is the smallest country in Africa while Ethiopia is one of the largest. But the two countries have a lot more in common than you might think. Agriculture is the dominant economic sector and both produce high quality specialty coffees. Burundi and Ethiopia are also land locked and face challenges in transporting goods across borders to trade regionally and internationally. Maximizing their potential for export trade is another area that binds these East African nations...

The United States charge d'affaires to The Gambia has assured that his country will continue to seek ways to work together with the latter, extend cooperation and deepen ties, saying the two countries have been partners since pre-independence. Speaking on the topic "the ongoing relationship between The Gambia and USA" during the third annual business dinner, organised in Brufut by the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) in The Gambia, Richard Yoneaka assured that they are open for business in the quest to promote economic...

Major food and agricultural associations in the US have united to lobby against the extension of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) if South Africa and other African countries continue to impose "protectionist" and "antidumping" measures against US exports. The associations, which have hundreds of thousands of members across the US, have joined forces in sending a letter to Congress members to register their "strong opposition to a long-term or permanent extension" of Agoa without simultaneously addressing their problems over the...

Swahili Fashion Week is partnering with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Competitiveness and Trade Expansion Program (COMPETE) to host Ready to Wear Night from December 5 to 8 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.   USAID COMPETE's support for Swahili Fashion Week is part of its Origin Africa program. Origin Africa is a global awareness campaign to change perceptions about doing business in Africa. Origin Africa at Swahili Fashion Week provides talented local designers with a forum showcasing their creativity and...

The apparel-making industry is crucial to many developing countries' economies, for it can create a large number of jobs and contribute to a country's economic growth. As making garments does not require sophisticated technology and machinery, it is a manufacturing sector that can be relatively easily installed in an under-developed country. Therefore, African countries have been eager to develop their apparel manufacturing capacity for long time, but the results have not been satisfactory so far because manufacturers in Asian countries,...

An ad hoc coalition of agricultural and food organizations led by the National Pork Producers Council is urging Congress to establish criteria for revoking a country’s tariff-free access to the U.S. market if it fails to give U.S. products treatment consistent with international trade rules. The coalition also weighed in on renewing beneficial trade treatment for African nations that restrict U.S. imports. The Generalized System of Preferences offers tariff-free treatment on many products from developing countries. Last year, 130 nations...

When the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was passed in 2000, there was well-deserved excitement and euphoria over the first act ever passed specifically for Africa by the American Congress. It was more than a trade act, but also a political incentive tool. African countries could qualify for AGOA if they met certain political measurements, including a positive human rights record, movement towards democracy and a number of other general criteria. More than 35 countries now qualify as AGOA-certified countries. Since the passage of...

The US International Trade Commission (USITC) is launching four separate investigations on the impact of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference programme. The move, at the request of the US Trade Representative (USTR), comes as the Obama Administration works to renew and potentially modify AGOA, which first entered into force in 2000 and is due to expire on 30 September 2015. The four USITC reports include one public report, an overview assessing the act’s impact on the economies of sub-Saharan Africa and the...

Preferential import policies that allow developing markets to export to advanced economies are intended to dynamically promote development rather than just provide basic gains from trade. This column argues that the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act achieves the latter but not the former, distorting incentives along the value-added chain. While beneficial, preferential trade deals are not a panacea and are certainly not a replacement for pro-development policies. The US and EU often claim credit for granting duty-free quota-free access to...

On September 30, United States Trade Representative Michael Froman wrote a letter to Irving Williamson, chairman of the International Trade Commission, regarding the African Growth and Opportunity Act. In the letter, Froman requested that the International Trade Commission conduct four investigations and provide four reports related to AGOA and our trade relationship with Africa. The results will likely bring sanity to our approach to trade with Africa, and it may very well force changes in how we develop future trade agreements and policy...

Nigerian Consul-General to Atlanta, US, Mr Geoffery Teneilabe,  on Thursday said that Nigeria had not benefited enough from the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) programme.  Teneilabe stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.  He said that contrary to the spirit of the programme, the US Government had not been encouraging import of non-oil commodities from Nigeria.  NAN recalls that AGOA was enacted to encourage  countries in assist sub-Saharan Africa to export garments...