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The United States on Wednesday froze most aid to Niger and imposed travel bans on some officials in response to President Mamadou Tandja's moves to extend his rule over the impoverished West African nation."In response to President Tandja's refusal to relinquish his mandate, the United States is suspending its non-humanitarian assistance to the Government of Niger," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.The United States contributes about $30 million annually to development in Niger, one of the world's poorest countries.The State...

Local firms that have remained largely shut out of the Export Processing Zones will receive a major boost when special economic zones are rolled out next year.The zones set up in 1990s, mainly to tap into the huge market provided under the African Growth and Opportunities Act have largely been a preserve of foreign companies.Agoa provides duty and quota free access to most of the products from Africa but local firms which lack access to capital, market knowledge and appropriate technology have had little to show for it.“Kenya owned...

Nigeria's Federal Government said that arrangements had been concluded to promote inflow of foreign direct investment in Nigeria by wooing American investors to set up companies.The decision is a fallout of the signing of trade and investment framework agreement between Nigeria and the United States of America (USA) in Washington DC recently.Chairman, Strategic Agenda and consultant to the Federal Government on U.S.-Nigeria Trade and Investment Framework, Funso Abiri explained that the move was initiated by the government as a result of poor...

Special economic zones will be rolled out in six months to replace export processing zones which have been facing hitches.The new areas will offer greater incentives to investors while addressing the weaknesses found in the EPZ which were set up in the 1990s to accelerate industrialisation.Trade Assistant minister Omingo Magara said the government intends to conclude the process of setting up the zones in the shortest time possible.“We want to give the commitment that the government wants the new economic zones launched in six months,”...

Madagascar has been a leader in the utilization of the trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) since becoming eligible in October 2000. The Act requires the President to annually designate countries as eligible to receive the benefits of AGOA if they have established, or are making continual progress in certain criteria, including the rule of law and political pluralism. The March 2009 undemocratic transfer of power and the inability to establish a return to democracy have violated one of the vital criteria for...

Tax experts are calling on the government to scrap the generous tariff breaks given to firms under the Export Processing Zones, saying they did not serve any purpose.Instead of attracting the intended foreign direct investment (FDI), the gesture was one of the ways the government was losing revenue, they said.“The government needs to eliminate all tax exemptions, holidays and other forms of special treatment to achieve equal treatment,” said Steve Okello, the head of Tax Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers.Mr Okello said the failure of...

Almeda textile factory, which is owned by the ruling party in Ethiopia, announced that it has begun exporting its products to Europe and the United States. The State-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported that a team led by Trade and Industry State Minister Tadesse Haile has visited the factory.Briefing the team, Factory Manager, Razvan Tonele said the factory has started exporting its products to Germany, Italy and the USA.The manager said the factory produces more than 40,000 jeans, T-shirts and other products a day. Established 14 years...

Madagascar's fate in the setting of the AGOA, the business opportunity agreement to the advantage of African countries, is up to the evolution of the political situation. According to the United States' ambassador, the time to a final decision is running out .The United States of America gave a reprieve to Madagascar, one last opportunity to preserve the country's eligibility to the AGOA. "Washington is day after day and hour after hour very concerned about the events in Madagascar", explained the ambassador Niels Marquardt. The diplomat had...

Note: This Bill was not passed by Congress in its current form. On 18 November 2009, Senator Bill McDermott, one of the architects of the AGOA legislation and a leading sponsor of US Trade Bills, introduced Bill H.R. 4101. More formally known as the "New Partnership for Trade Development Act of 2009", the proposed legislation is geared towards harmonising US trade policy and development efforts. It follows on from comments McDermott made during the annual AGOA Forum held most recently in Nairobi, Kenya, seeking to extend the current...

Around 5 000 workers employed by Caratex Botswana, a textile company, will lose their jobs when it closes for good in December. Mr. Craig Chow, Managing Director of Caratex Botswana, said last week in an interview that the company was set to close its factories as conditions have become difficult to continue production. Chow said the last workday will be 10th December 2009. “The recession has hit the industry very hard and competition is now very strong and buyers are becoming realistic and opting for cheaper goods.” Chow lamented the...

At the peak of its boom in the 1970s through to the 1980s, the Nigerian textile sub-sector gave direct employment to some 250,000 workers.Those who indirectly depended on the sub-sector -- ginneries, textile dealers, tailors, cotton farmers, haulage companies, etc -- were in their millions.Statistics show that currently, the few surviving textile factories in Nigeria employ less than 24,000 workers.This has contributed immensely to the battalions of unemployed youths, some of whom have taken to anti-social activities and are disturbing the...

The Gambia’s minister of Trade, Industry and Employment, Yusupha Kah, and the US ambassador to The Gambia, Barry L. Wells on Tuesday presided over the opening of a two-day business forum aimed at promoting trade and investment between the US and Gambia.The forum held at 20km from Banjul the capital is sponsored and organised by the US embassy in Banjul in collaboration with the Trade ministry.The forum is on the theme « Doing business with the US ».According to a release from the embassy, the forum also aims to foster entrepreneurship...

With the expansion of the East African market taking shape at the end of the month when the Common Market Protocol is signed, the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) is pushing for investors in the sector to be allowed to sell 70 per cent of their products locally.Currently EPZs are allowed to dispose only 20 per cent of their products in the local market. After the adoption of the common market protocol, this means that all the five countries will constitute a local market."The region has a combined population of over 200 million...

The United States of America embassy in Banjul in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, will hold a business forum on November 17th to 18th 2009 at the Coconut Residence Hotel in Senegambia.This forum which will be on the theme: "Doing business with the US", is intended to promote trade and investment network between the United States of America and The Gambia, foster entrepreneurship, and expand trade opportunities under the Agriculture Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).In view of this, the US embassy has invited several distinguished...

To ensure proper articulation and harmonisation of Nigeria's position on bilateral trade negotiations as well as promote the country's interest in the World Trade Organisation, an Enlarged National Focal Point (ENFP) committee has been re-inaugurated. The inauguration was done on Friday by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the EU-ECOWAS Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The committee will be responsible for reflecting, brainstorming and advising the...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group President, Donald Kaberuka, will be on an official visit to India from November 9-11, 2009. While in India, Mr. Kaberuka will meet with Indian government officials and businesspeople with whom he will discuss how India and Africa could cooperate in the railway and information technology domains.India has established a reputation in the information technology sector and its experience in the railway domain could be of great significance to the continent. Africa had once had a vibrant working railway...

Development experts in Kenya are proposing ways to benefit from China’s growing interest in Africa even as latest trade figures show widening trade gap in favour of the Asian nation.China is primed to experience the fastest economic growth in the post-recession world with the International Monetary Fund’s latest figures predicting her 2010 rate at nine per cent.Legal expertsThis week, a team of government and business leaders joins delegates from other African countries at a Chinese investment forum in Egypt to bargain for the...

US trade and development officials held in-depth discussions today with officials from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to review progress on their work together under the U.S.-COMESA Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). This was the sixth high-level meeting under the TIFA, which provides a forum for advancing cooperation on trade and investment issues between the United States and COMESA.Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa Florizelle Liser and COMESA Secretary-General Sindiso Ngwenya...

An influential US lobby is pushing for Kenya to remain in the list of countries eligible for trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).The deal comes up for review next year, even as Kenya faces relentless pressure from the US to peg the trade regime on good governance.The United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA) has strongly supported Kenya and three other African countries— Lesotho, Madagascar and Swaziland —which they want retained when their eligibility comes up for review in...

A rebounding US economy presents an opportunity for Kenya’s policy makers to craft new investment policies to reverse the decline that has come to characterise the country’s textile and apparel industry and boost the country’s Agoa exports, industry players say.Kenya, which adopted a niche market approach to the US market when the Agoa policy was enacted a decade ago, has mainly concentrated on promoting the production and sale of textile and apparel to the American market.Kenya’s textile industry is the most advanced in the region...

Ms Rosa Whitaker, the President and CEO of the Whitaker Group (TWG) of USA has assured African exporters that despite the economic downturn, the $11-trillion US market still offered many opportunities to African entrepreneurs willing to stay abreast of the dynamic marketing environment of the United States and market their products to meet consumer demand.“Despite the global recession, there are still many opportunities for African exporters to sell their products in the American market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act...

Kenya risks being thrown out of a list of countries that will next year trade with the US on concessionary terms contained in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), analysts warned, citing a raging diplomatic row between the two countries over the pace of reforms.Review of countries that qualify to benefit from Agoa as provided for in the pact is going on and exporters are worried that persistent friction over the pace of political reforms may draw the Obama administration’s attention to Kenya’s presence in the list posing the...

Turkish textile producer and exporter Saygın Textile has finalized preparations to shift its factory operations to the Oromia region of Ethiopia, according to an Oct. 17 story by The Reporter, an Ethiopia-based daily.Saygın has secured 17 hectares of land in a central Ethiopia town called Sebeta, where it will build an integrated textile factory, Oromia Investment Commissioner Ismail Yassin told the publication.The company has entered into a joint venture with the Ethiopian government, called Saygın Dima Textile, which will...

The Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Humphrey Abah has urged Nigerian businessmen to take advantage of trade and investment opportunities available in the Unites State of America's African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) as well the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and exports goods to the US market. The Minister said this at a sensitization workshop in Kano over the weekend on opportunities and challenges available in doing business in the USA. He said the workshop is one of the ways through which members of...

The announcement that a new greenfield vehicle manufacturing plant is on the cards for the East London industrial development zone is an exciting development. The facility, to be operated by an outsourced assembler, will have the capacity to produce 50 000 vehicles a year for several newer entrants to the local market.It will be the first original equipment manufacturer (OEM) automotive facility set up in South Africa in the past four decades, and will boost foreign investment, create jobs and bolster exports.OEMs apparently interested in...

The U.S. government provides reduced or duty-free privileges on thousands of goods made in developing nations around the world. Likewise, the U.S. has entered more than a dozen free-trade agreements with trading partners of various sizes. Trade preference programs and FTAs can offer substantial savings to companies importing or selling covered products in the U.S. market, a benefit that's even more notable in today's uncertain economic climate. But there are specific rules for taking advantage of these preferences, and a recent court...

The African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), a United States Trade Act meant to enhance U.S. market access for Sub-Saharan African countries, is a special economic growth and development initiative. It was predicated on the understanding of the US that African nations are at a comparative disadvantage in global trade because of their lack of capital, poor infrastructure, corruption, political and economic mismanagement.The Act, which presently allows 39 sub-Saharan African countries including Nigeria access to US market, was in operation for...

South Africa has proposed that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) between the US and African countries be extended for a longer period of time to allow for investment in capacity building that would allow more countries and industries to take advantage of the benefits of the Act, Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies said on Monday.The Act, which provided preferential access for imports from beneficiary African countries, would expire in 2015, while the third-country fabric provision under the Act would expire in 2012, said...

When in the year 2000, under the presidency of Bill Clinton, the United States government promulgated the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA) which was to enable some 41 selected African countries export about 6400 different goods into the United States of America under very relaxed and convenient trade conditions, it was seen as a wide escape route from the abject poverty that had continued to ravage the very existence of the African states. However, almost a decade now, it is been realized that Nigeria has not optimally utilized this...

Thank you. Well, thank you very much, Stephen, and it is a real pleasure for me to join you today and be part of what has already been a very substantive program. I thank you and the Corporate Council on Africa for your tireless efforts to develop stronger business and trade ties between the United States and the countries of Africa. And I want to also recognize my colleague in the cabinet, the U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk, who is a great advocate of increasing economic and trade opportunities as well. (Applause.)Well, as...

South Africa is pushing the US to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which enables sub-Saharan African countries to export more than 6400 items duty-free to that country.If extended indefinitely, as SA would like, Agoa would boost SA’s and the continent’s trade with the US significantly.SA is clearly benefiting from the trade deal. The value of SA- US trade has increased steadily, from 923m in 2001 to 8,9bn last year, and SA is keen to grow this trade even more. SA’s exports to the US this year were R19,1bn to June...

Government has pledged full support for the development of the textile industry.Industry and Technology State Minister Rev Simon Lokodo and his Trade counterpart Gagawala Wambuzi said on September 24 the country’s textile industry has the potential to grow and create numerous job opportunities for Ugandans as well as satisfy the domestic apparel demand.The two, who officiated the opening of an event at the Textile Development Agency (Texda) in Kampala, reiterated the need for scaling up production in the cotton sub-industry to support the...

Nigeria's Federal Government yesterday expressed worries over the low volume of trade in non-oil products between Nigeria and the United States of America.Minister of Commerce and Industry, Chief Achike Udenwa, said this at a sensitisation workshop on "opportunities and challenges available in doing business in USA," in Lagos.Udenwa, represented by Deputy Director, Trade, in his Ministry, Mr. David Adejuwon, said the fact that Nigeria had not leveraged on trade opportunity in the 6,400 products made available by the Africa Growth and...

A month after accompanying Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to seven African countries, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson, in a major policy presentation has reiterated the Obama administration's commitment to engage with Africa and its problems."We remain optimistic and hopeful about the continent," in spite of "very serious and well-known challenges," he said during an hour-long presentation and question-and-answer session at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC.The visits to Africa by President Obama,...

International trade experts have decried the fact of Nigeria not taking full advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is meant to increase non-oil exports from the continent to the United States of America.Despite the increase recorded in Nigeria's non-oil export to the US in 2008, there are still concerns that Nigeria is not making good use of the AGOA initiative.A specialist in international trade and logistics, Obiora Madu, said Nigerians are not effectively tapping into the opportunity given to them by the US to...

In the aftermath of the annual AGOA Forum held last month in Nairobi, there has been a chorus of pessimists placing AGOA in the Hall of Shame of failed policy initiatives. They could not be more wrong.In fact, AGOA is among the most successful US policies towards Africa—especially in terms of a return-on-investment ratio. According to the OECD, over the past 50 years the US has spent well over $325 billion dollars in foreign aid to Africa – yet Africa remains the only region of the world getting poorer. The returns on investments from...

Although total U.S. trade with sub-Saharan Africa (exports plus imports) declined in the first four months of 2009 compared with the same period in 2008, largely as a result of the global economic crisis, many sub-Saharan African countries continue to reap benefits from changes to their economic policies, improved governance and investments in key social sectors undertaken during the past decade.Holly Vineyard, deputy assistant secretary for Africa, the Middle East and South Asia in the Commerce Department's International Trade...

During the recently concluded AGOA Forum in Kenya, it was pointed out that Africa still takes too little advantage of the trade facility. That is also the case in Rwanda. Under the AGOA initiative, some 6,400 products can be exported by 41 African countries, but since the launch of the Act in 2000, they export less than 50%, and petroleum products alone account for more than 90% of the $81.4 billion earned from exports to the US. In the EAC, Kenya was the biggest earner with US$ 343.5 million, whereas Rwanda only got US$ 13.7...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently concluded her maiden trip to sub-Saharan Africa carrying in her words "a tough message lovingly delivered." Simultaneously, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk visited Kenya, Ethiopia and Senegal also touting, in his words, "a tough love" message for Africans.But U.S. policy in Africa is not about love. It's about advancing America's core interests: promoting economic growth and development, combating terrorism, and fostering well-governed, stable countries. Did Mrs. Clinton's trip advance those...

In 2000 when the Clinton Administration enacted the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) to enhance trade between Africa and the US, many thought it would end the economic and financial woes of sub-Saharan Africa.However, that never happened; Africa is still in want. Africa, over the years, has had its growth and development dependent on other forces or nations, for which reason Africa went out for a tea party when the AGOA was enacted.In fact, AGOA marked a fundamental shift in US policy towards Africa. For the first time, the US...

The United States has been challenged to seek ways of increasing investment in Africa to enable the continent take fuller advantage of Africa Growth Opportunity Act. Experts say the levels of savings in Africa as being too low to promote investment, thus the need to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Speaking during the plenary session on ‘Successes, Challenges and Prospects of AGOA’, recently, the Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Mr Siniso Ngwenya said: “Whereas modest increases...

Sub-Sahara African countries, including Namibia, are calling for a permanent and predictable African Growth and Opportunity Act framework through which they can trade with the US.They say production capacity, high transportation costs as well as stringent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures are among key challenges hindering the expansion of trade between Sub-Sahara Africa and the US.Lack of capacity to produce competitive goods and services due to supply-side constraints, lengthy procedures to comply with US standards and high...

Africa must lobby the World Trade Organisation for exemption to rules that bar member states from signing non-reciprocal trade pacts if the United States is to extend the Agoa pact beyond 2015, trade experts said.Extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) beyond 2015 is seen to be critical to Africa’s ability to attract investment it needs to prop up the competitiveness of the sectors that produce for export under the preferential terms.Trade experts say the six years remaining before expiry of Agoa is limiting capital...

Kenya last week hosted the 8th USA-Africa AGOA Forum, an annual event mandated by the AGOA legislation. The Forum took place over three days from 4-6 August, with the first day dedicated to private sector and civil society sessions, and the next two to the Ministerial. This was open to all registered delegates. The US' high-powered delegation to this year's event was spearheaded by Hillary Clinton who began her 11-day Africa trip in Kenya. Others included at least three congressmen, including Jim McDermott, one of the original architects of...

Sudath Perera has every reason to be content. He started up his textiles factory outside the Kenyan capital Nairobi nine years ago; today, he employs 1500 workers and turns over between 18 and 20 million U.S. dollars a year.“We are contributing to the local economy by creating employment,” he says. “And indirectly there are a lot of local suppliers also relying on us.”Perera’s factory is one of thousands of businesses on the continent that are taking advantage of a U.S. trade programme under which certain goods from around 40...

Chronic poverty and hunger in Africa have come under the searchlight of the continent's women scientists and the United States (U.S.) government.Under its new response to the twin problems in Africa, the Barack Obama administration is counting on the continent's women farmers/scientists to bail out millions of Africans from poverty and hunger in the region.These were some of the decisions taken in Nairobi, Kenya, during a parley between the African women and visiting American officials led by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.And when...

The past week saw a disruption in the life of many Nairobians as we made room for both the 8th African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) forum. I wish to address the issue of Agoa from a business perspective and posit here that in its current form and with Africa’s current approach, it is probably much ado about little.What is Agoa all about? This question has two sides to its answer. According to the Agoa.info portal, The Agoa is “a United States Trade Act that significantly enhances US market access for (currently) 39 Sub-Saharan...

President Obama encouraged maximizing trade relations between the United States and Africa today in a video message to a conference in Kenya.Formed from the African Growth and Opportunities Act that was signed by President Clinton and went into effect in 2000, the AGOA Forum is focused on discussing critical economic and trade issues facing sub-Saharan Africa. The AGOA was intended to expand access to American markets for the 39 Sub-Saharan African countries."By breaking down old barriers and opening new markets, we not only increase trade...

The expiry of the trade protection that has ushered in stiff competition from low-cost producers in Asia and US-originated trade barriers are the two major reasons Kenyan textile exports to the world’s largest economy are low.The end of the multi-fibre agreement (MFA) trade quotas for textiles opened the US market to exporters of cheaper products from India, Bangladesh and Vietnam – who have now taken a bigger chunk of the US market.The final nail in the coffin of textile manufacturers in Kenya’s Export Processing Zones (EPZ) was the...