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Guidelines for grants that will be available to vehicle and component manufacturers through the Automotive Investment Scheme (AIS), which forms part of the government's new Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP), have been completed.The scheme is meant to deepen the domestic automotive manufacturing industry.The South African government has also proposed to the US government that it roll over the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) for "a reasonable period of time".Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies confirmed this...

Thirty Gambian fashion designers and apparel producers are planning on attending a major textile expo in the United States of America in May.The delegation of Textile and sewn products Industry week (TASPIW) in Atlanta, Georgia would be in The Gambia, led by a representative of the US Embassy and an official of the ministry of Trade and Employment.The show will expose visitors to the latest equipment and technology in textile making and apparel production as well as to the high quality fabrics in the United States.The visit to the expo in...

When Kumar Dewapura, a renowned textile guru and the chairman of the Sri Lanka-based Tri-Star Group, landed in Uganda in 2002, two years after the US government unveiled the AGOA initiative, he was given the nation’s dream of exporting its first textile products to the mighty US market but most importantly, he was expected to help the country benefit from a fully-integrated textile industrial model.Dewapura traversed the country with the hope of buying into the existing textile factories of Lira Spinning Mill or the Mbale-based African...

A delegation comprising 300 Gambian fashion designers and apparel producers are currently planning to attend a major textile expo in the United States of America in May. The delegation to the Textile and Sewn Products Industry (TaSPIW) in Atlanta, Georgia, will be led by officials from the Trade and Employment ministry.Speaking at a press conference held at the US Embassy Thursday, Barry Wells, the United States ambassador to The Gambia disclosed that the visit is part of the efforts of the US Embassy and the Ministry of Trade to help...

Parliament has adopted the 2009 National Trade Policy for Botswana.The policy intends to facilitate access to markets for Botswanas export of goods and services and enable consumers access to a wider choice of international goods and services on the best possible terms.Presenting the motion, Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Dorcus Makgato-Malesu said Botswana had never had a national trade policy document to guide her trade relations with other countries.She stated that trade policy positions had been based on various pieces of...

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan is to have a one-on -one meeting with United States while in Washington for the nuclear security summit. Ikechukwu Eze and Alex Chiejina write that the Presidency should leverage the opportunity to not only deepen the diplomatic ties between both countries but also harness probable business opportunitiesFor most foreign leaders getting an audience with an American President is always a highly coveted quest. It is always considered a great privilege to either get the world's most powerful leader to visit...

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Thursday that the South African government had put forward a proposal to the US government to roll over the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) "for a reasonable period of time".Agoa was to come to an end in 2015.Agoa allowed for the duty-free and quota-free entry of around 7 000 product lines into the US from 37 designated sub-Saharan countries. These product lines included vehicle and component exports, such as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, produced in East London.Automotive exports to the...

The US and Nigeria would be attempting to upgrade its diplomatic ties through a historic comprehensive commission pact to be signed on Wednesday in New York. The bi-national commission agreement comes barely days after the US lifted enhanced airport screening measures against Nigeria and other 13 countries, which was imposed following failed terror attempt by a Nigerian in a US flight on Christmas day last year.The Secretary to the Nigerian Government of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Yayale is leading a delegation comprising of top government...

The value of vehicles and vehicle components exported by South African manufacturers in 2009 was R33.2bn less than in the previous year.This decline brings the value of last year's exports by the motor industry to R61bn, some 35% less than the record R94.2bn worth of exports in 2008.Norman Lamprecht, managing executive for the Automotive Industry Export Council and the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, says the negative effect of the financial crisis on the motor industry's top export markets had far-reaching...

Lagos - The political crisis in the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar has been rumbling on for more than a year. The genesis of the current problems may be traced to sometime in 2008, when opposition protesters, loyal to the former Mayor of Antananarivo, the national capital, started what turned out to be weeks and weeks of random rallies against the elected government of President Marc Ravalomanana, in an effort to bring it down. The leader of the protests happened to be one Andre Rajuoline, a thirty-three-year-old former disc...

The following remarks were issued by Chairman Donald M. Payne at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health titled 'An Overvìew of U.S. Polícy ín Africa'.As the title suggests, the purpose of this hearing is to discuss the Administration's policy on the continent of Africa - to gain an understanding of both the overall policy towards the region and the United States' position on key and pressing issues of the day. To that end we have two distinguished panels which I will introduce following Members' opening statements. Let...

In a statement prepared for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, March 24, 2010, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson discussed challenges facing sub-Saharan African nations and how the United States plans to work with African governments and the international community to address these challenges. Carson emphasized the importance of strengthening democratic institutions, promoting economic development, and preventing and resolving conflicts as key elements to Africa's transformation. "The Obama Administration...

Madagascar's coup leader Andry Rajoelina has reacted angrily to the sanctions imposed against his regime by the African Union (AU) and trade partners, threatening to attack the opposition. This is a sign sanctions have an impact, ex-leaders say.The AU last week imposed sanctions against Madagascar's ruling elite, which came to power in a military coup in March 2009. The AU sanctions follow the decision by the United States to suspend Madagascar's involvement in the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) and the European Union has also...

The recent visit of Deputy United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Demetrios Merantis, marked a re-energising of US-East African Community trade relations. Observers at a formal event that Demetrios addressed in Kampala say his visit signals the US waking up to the reality that there is an emerging strong economic bloc not to be ignored - the East African Community.Demetrios visit was different in that it was a visit from an official of the US state department in charge of trade and not a privately led initiative of American lobbyists...

One year after the overthrow of Madagascar's president, the Indian Ocean island is facing stiffer political penalties and economic sanctions that are plunging thousands into poverty.A deserted garment factory in the capital Antananarivo is one of the recent victims of the forcible power change that prompted the United States to halt a scheme allowing some African countries preferential access to its markets.Since the US suspended the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in December, factory manager Richard Hurnungee has been struggling...

The New Partnership for Trade Development Act (NPTDA), 2009 would help Bangladesh to boost its exports to the USA if appropriate measures and careful strategies are undertaken, observes an expert committee commissioned by the government.The committee, which has submitted its report to the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) last week, has put forward 12-point suggestions tothe government to reap the maximum possible benefit out of the NPTDA Bill.The Public-Private seven-member committee was formed in December 2009 headed by Professor Mustafizur...

The African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), that allows countries in the continent to fully access the US market, has not been fully utilized and Tanzania can do more in so many areas in the quest to capture the markets.The US Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Alfonso Lenhardt, said today that it was true that the export-import ratio between the two countries was still imbalanced, but this is the challenge that the country has to take in order to overcome the difference."The top leadership including the president, prime minister and vice- president...

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has concluded arrangements to showcase the investment potential in the different sectors of the Nigerian economy, in the United States market. This will be achieved through the 1st Nigeria-US business forum scheduled to hold on April 2010 in Atlanta, Houston and Chicago. The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Achike Udenwa, while briefing newsmen in Abuja on Monday, disclosed that the forum will give a boost to trade relations between Nigeria and the United States. He added that the business forum is a...

Textile vendors have called for the deepening of ties between The Gambia and the United States so that there could be direct benefits to The Gambia’s business sector. Speaking in an interview with TODAY Newspaper at the conclusion of a two day apparel export training workshop jointly organized by the US embassy and the West Africa Trade Hub (WATH), held at the Sheraton Hotel in Brufut, Mariama Demba, a tie & dye specialist and craft vendor at the Sunbeach craft market said the strengthening of bilateral relationship between Banjul and...

The East African Community is not reaping maximum benefits from the African Growth and Opportunity Act, as the value of exports to the US market diminishes.This has been blamed on agricultural subsidies in the US as well as inadequate trade facilitation, ballooning production and flight costs.Last year, for instance, $1.4 billion worth of goods was traded between the regional bloc and the US, with revenue from EAC exports standing at $191.8 million — which is just a fragment of the billions the region garners from trade with the Common...

Tensions between street traders and the city authorities in Madagascar's capital, Antananarivo, are mounting as hundreds of recently unemployed textile industry workers compete with established informal traders; textile factories have been closing since the country was suspended from a preferential trade agreement with the US."Before, there were just a few stalls here - now there is someone selling something, every step you take," Naina Ravaoarinirina, a cosmetics vendor, told IRIN, hiding her goods from sight as a municipal patrol passed...

Hon. Babucarr H.M. Jallow, The Gambia's minister of Trade and Employment has said the government would continue to sustain efforts aimed at strengthening the export sector in the country. He made the affirmation yesterday at the Sheraton Hotel at a training workshop on apparel export, jointly organized by the United States Embassy in Banjul and the West Africa Trade Hub (WATH).According to the Trade minister, the ministry is working tirelessly to ensure that Gambian exports to the US market increase substantially. He said the AGOA initiative...

Investor interest in Kenya’s Export Processing Zones has nearly doubled in the past six months, brightening growth prospects for the country’s nascent exports sector and promising new jobs for the ever rising number of unemployed youth.Latest data from Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) indicates that the number of foreign firms applying to set up operations in the special industrial zones rose to 12 since August last year double the annual average of six in the preceding period.Investor interest in EPZs is in tandem with recent...

The Gambian Minister of Trade and Employment, Mr. Baboucarr Jallow has re-echoed the importance of the training under the United States Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which the US embassy in Banjul is providing to Gambian entrepreneurs on Monday and Tuesday.Speaking at the opening ceremony of the two-day training at the Sheraton hotel in Brufut, about 17 kilometres fromBanjul, he said “the nature of today’s training is highly commendable and in the right direction that would enhance practical expertise”.According to him, The...

Stephen Hayes, president of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in this interview with Mshale Correspondent Williams Ekanem in Washington D.C says African leaders should reflect on why things are working out in other continents but not in Africa. He is of the opinion that there is nothing outsiders can do about the high level corruption on the continent. The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) had a very successful outing in September during the 7th U.S. Africa business summit, although early, but what would say are the gains of the...

In the past eight years, U.S. trade with sub-Saharan Africa has more than doubled as Africans improve their lives and livelihoods while exporting an ever-expanding list of goods to the United States, says Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis.“At the same time, American companies and workers have found new opportunities to do business in Africa — providing inputs and expertise to aspiring African entrepreneurs, participating in joint-venture partnerships, and increasing American exports and investments,” Marantis said in...

Sierra Leone is a Least Developed Country in Africa and this has given us the opportunity to export varieties of goods to the United States under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Producers in these areas will be permitted to export products to the US duty-free. At the current time, all cane products - sugar, molasses, ethanol, etc. and oil-palm products (palm oil, palm kernel oil, oilcake from palm, palmitic acid, etc.) are classified as eligible products, although the US can change the list of products unilaterally and does so...

The EAC-USA Trade and Investment Council will hold its inaugural meeting on 15 February 2010 in Kampala, Uganda, with discussions on various areas of cooperation forming the agenda. The EAC region will be represented by the Ministers for Trade from the five EAC Partner States headed by Hon. Dr. Mary M. Nagu, Minister for Industry, Trade and Marketing of the United Republic of Tanzania, who is the current Chairperson of the Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment. The United States will be represented by the United States...

Cotton growing has now been left to small holder farms thereby reducing the production capacity of the country, analysts say amid concerns that the declining production is jeopardising Kenya’s ability to utilise the platform offered by Africa Growths Opportunities Act (Agoa) to export locally manufactured apparel to American markets duty and quota free.Attempts to grow cotton in more than 30,000 hectares have flopped after a 2005 attempt by the Cotton Development Authority to encourage cotton farming and return Kenya to the export...

Contributing to the 2010/11 budget proposals in Parliament on Wednesday, Shoshong MP, Mr Philip Makgalemele, said he appreciated why public service salaries were not increased, arguing the 15 per cent government contribution towards public officers pensions fund was a great assistance.Regarding the value added tax (VAT) which has been increased by two to 12 per cent, MP Makgalemele said it was of grave concern even though he appreciated that government revenues had declined.He said it would take apt work ethics to transform the countrys...

The European Union plans to tighten the rules for beneficiaries of its budget support fund, placing governance at the centre of a programme that has been pivotal to infrastructure financing in countries like Kenya.Under the proposed rules governance will get a higher weighting when countries are being assessed for financing from the European Development Fund (EDF), signalling that political stability and the fight against corruption might become the deciding factors.Stringent levelsThe move is expected to place developing nations with...

On a recent sunny afternoon in Minna, Nigeria, Thompson Ogunsanmi had a list of new developments in the area’s shea sector to share. It was a long list.Activity in the shea business has increased rapidly in the last year, thanks at least partly to the industry’s 2009 annual conference. With “Global Shea 2010: Maximizing Quality, Expanding Markets” set for March 16-19 in Bamako, Mali, many are expecting it to increase even more.“Shea 2009 allowed Nigerians to see what was happening in Ghana and Burkina Faso and elsewhere,” said...

Madagascar’s economy, already reeling from the effects of a yearlong political crisis, faces a new threat this week when European Union officials meet to discuss possible sanctions against the Indian Ocean island nation.What measures the EU should take against the government of Andry Rajoelina, a 35-year-old former disc-jockey who seized power with the help of the army last year, will be on the agenda when the EU’s Africa Working Group gathers in Brussels on Feb. 10, Maria Becerril-Perez, chargé d’affaires of the EU delegation in...

Minister of Commerce and Industry, Chief Achike Udenwa yesterday said that the purpose of the first ever United States of America (USA) and Nigeria Business Forum is to attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the economy and also to open up Nigeria’s market opportunities to the American market which largely has remain untapped for several years.The idea for the business forum, according to the minister was conceived last year March. He said the United States and Nigeria officials held the sixth meeting under the US-Nigeria...

The Government’s plan to establish Special Economic Zones (SER) may suffer a setback, due to declining productivity at the Athi River-based industrial enclave.A new report by the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) says Kenya’s labour productivity at the Export Promotion Zones (EPZs) has been declining by four per cent every year.This means that unless investment in skilled labour is shored up in the next few years, production at the EPZs could dip, making the country lose competitiveness in its exports through the Africa...

The election of President Barack Obama resonated loudly throughout Africa. His victory raised expectations that Africa would assume a more prominent place in U.S. foreign policy. This was not in 2009 to be the case.To its credit, the Obama Administration has in its first year done a good job reminding Africans of the challenges they face. In July, the President spent a day in Ghana and delivered strong messages in his Africa policy speech. He talked about importance of good governance, stronger institutions, and ending festering conflicts....

Despite all the positives surrounding the coming World Cup in South Africa this year, there are a number of developments that could restrict or even derail any positive developments in 2010. First, looking at Nigeria and the attempted Christmas Day attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, without a functioning President (or even a capable interim) or an Ambassador in the United States, or a respectable lobbying/legal presence to communicate with the Obama Administration and the U.S. Congress, Nigeria made it very easy for the U.S. government to...

Barack Obama’s inauguration was greeted with euphoria in Africa,perhaps nowhere more than here in Kenya, the country where Obama’s father was born and raised. The response was emotional — a black man, an African, was leader of one of the world's most powerful countries — and there were expectations that his kinship would mean a more attentive approach to the continent.Yet troop deployments to Afghanistan, domestic health reform and the economic crisis have meant that a year down the line Obama’s Africa policy is just coming into...

US President Barack Obama's record on Africa during his first year in the White House is drawing mixed reviews from analysts in Washington and Nairobi.There is general agreement in Washington that Kenyans and other Africans held exaggerated hopes for a US president of African descent that could not possibly be fulfilled.In Nairobi, the government downplayed Mr Obama's failure to visit Kenya during his tour of Africa, instead saying that the country had gained a lot during the US president's first year in office.Foreign Affairs minister Moses...

Madagascar’s government expects the economy to grow 2.6 percent this year, a forecast that some analysts say is unrealistic as donors continue to withhold aid and the country’s year-long political crisis drags on.The economy has suffered a series of “hard blows” since political unrest erupted last year, Minister of Economy and Industry Richard Fienena said in an interview in the capital, Antananarivo, on Jan. 15. The economy only expanded 0.6 percent last year, he said, calling on donors to resume aid.Growth had been forecast to...

The impact of the United States' export window through the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA, is not being felt as expected in Nigeria. This is because Nigeria has not produced high quality goods and services that will compete favourably in the international market.The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Achike Udenwa, told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday that Nigeria has not done well in exploiting opportunities provided by AGOA to turn around its fortunes, as other countries signatory to it have done."We have not done very well in...

The Kaduna state chapter of Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce has promised to help credible businessmen to access the window which the African Growth And Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides for African goods in the United States, Dr Musa Bawa, the president has promised.Dr Bawa who made this known when the new EXCO paid a courtesy call on the Kaduna bureau of Daily Trust, also said that the chamber will help genuine businessmen to secure visas for business trips to the US. According to him, the chamber aims to promote business and cultural...

Extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) will not make any major impact in Kenya if the government continues to ignore cotton growing. The sector will help provide the much needed raw materials for garment makers.The government has, therefore, been urged to support the cotton sector locally to enable the country reap full benefits of the market deal.The chairman of the Garments Manufacturers Association, Mombasa chapter, Mr Thomas Puthoor, said that if they continue importing raw materials, access to American markets under...

Until recently when a Nigerian, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, attempted to blow up a United States of America North West aircraft, relations between Nigeria and the US was on a good footing. The ensuing diplomatic strain between the two countries followed the decision by the American government toinclude Nigeria in the list of terrorism-prone countries. The Nigerian government and various interest groups in the country have criticised the action of the United States of America, with the Federal Government threatening to severe relations with...

The United States Government is suspending trade benefits granted under the African Growth and Opportunity Act [AGOA] for Guinea, Niger and Madagascar. President Barack Obama administration announced the decision on December 24, citing a lack of progress in democracy-building, a primary criterion for eligibility in the program. At the same time, the U.S. is reinstating Mauritania in recognition of 2009 elections that followed a 2008 military coup."The main point of AGOA is to reward countries that perform well," said Anthony Newton, director...

Over the past decade, the United States of America has been seeking to redefine its support and establishment terms in Africa, for economic and geostrategic concerns, with the year 2009 being marked by the strengthening of the opportunities offered to African countries by two US cooperation instruments, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).The AGOA, the law on growth and markets in Africa, was officially signed in May 2000 to encourage African countries to develop markets based on...

Southern African ministers are meeting in Mozambique to prepare for next month's summit of the African Union. Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Democratic Republic of Congo are major topics of discussion.Foreign ministers of the Southern African Development Community met in Maputo to prepare a report on the region's political crises. It is to be presented to African leaders at their upcoming summit in Ethiopia.SADC's Political and Diplomatic Committee has been mediating three major crises in the region.SADC officials said the ministers are pleased...

The Obama administration has decided to suspend trade benefits granted under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for Guinea, Niger and Madagascar, citing a lack of democratic progress, which is a primary criterion for eligibility in the program.At the same time, it is reinstating Mauritania in recognition of democratic elections that replaced a government which came to power through a 2008 military coup."The main point of AGOA is to reward countries that perform well," Anthony Newton, the director of the economic policy staff in...

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he has terminated trade benefits for Guinea, Madagascar and Niger, three African countries where democratic progress is threatened by political turmoil.In a statement, Obama said the three countries had failed to make "continual progress" in meeting U.S. requirements for the African Growth and Opportunity Act."Each of these countries has experienced an undemocratic transfer of power, which is incompatible with making progress toward establishing the rule of law or political pluralism," said a White...