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South Africa: BLSA CEO calls for more companies to leverage AGOA opportunities

Many more South African companies could benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which gives eligible countries access to US markets free of tariff barriers, business organisation BusinessLeadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso writes in her weekly newsletter. Apart from mainstream formal sector businesses, there are opportunities to enable more entrepreneurs, including women-led businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises, to benefit, she posits. “They may need support...

20 November 2023 | Tasneem Bulbulia

WEF - How has AGOA benefited African countries?

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a trade agreement between the United States and sub-Saharan African countries. Agoa has helped to increase trade and investment between Africa and the US. It has also helped to create jobs and boost economic growth in Africa. African countries are calling for it to be extended. To what extent has the AGOA goal been achieved? The duty- and quota-free access to the US market granted by Agoa has helped in boosting trade and investment between sub-Saharan Africa and the US. Many of...

16 November 2023 | David Luke

South Africa’s AGOA forum: Crafting future pathways for US-Africa trade partnership

Ultimately the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) could be extended by 16 years, that means until 2041, indicating its importance for strengthening Africa’s trade and economic cooperation with United States. That was, in fact, the main focus during Johannesburg’s early November forum that brought together more than 30 trade ministers, astute investors plus representatives from the regional economic blocs and the African Union. At the forum, Africa’s geopolitical alliance with collective expectations and ambitions to shape the...

14 November 2023 | KESTER KENN KLOMEGAH

CTI and CCA coming together to develop a US-Tanzania trade and investment strategy

The Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) has partnered with the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) to develop a strategic approach to increase US-Tanzania trade and investments. The call was made by Ambassador Elsie Kanza, the Tanzanian Ambassador to the US. Among many other things, Ambassador Kanza tasked CTI to bring more visibility and awareness to the opportunities to expand Trade and investment between Tanzania and the USA under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).  CTI and CCA signed an MoU during the official...

13 November 2023

Africa-US trade: AGOA expires in 2025 - what has it achieved in 23 years?

African governments are seeking an extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) beyond 2025. The law was enacted in 2000 to “encourage increased trade and investment between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa”. We asked David Luke, who specialises in African trade policy and trade negotiations, what benefits Agoa has brought for qualifying African countries and how it can be improved. To what extent has the AGOA goal been achieved? The duty- and quota-free access to the...

12 November 2023 | David Luke

'Can Uganda wiggle out of AGOA puzzle?'

Uganda faces the possibility of being removed from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beneficiary states thanks in no small part to what the United States calls human rights violations. This comes hot on the heels of the recent enactment of anti- homosexuality legislation in Uganda. The programme offers duty-free access to the world’s largest economy for Sub-Saharan African countries that meet democratic criteria, which is evaluated each year. Boasting a staggering pool of more than 6,000 eligible products, AGOA has...

12 November 2023 | Deogratius Wamala

US ambassador: AGOA is an opportunity to deepen ties between the US and South Africa

President Joe Biden last December at the US-Africa Leaders Summit affirmed that the US will elevate its relationship with Africa. The future is Africa. One example is its youthful population: the median age on the continent is 19. By 2050, one in four people in the world will be in Africa. The US wants them to be healthy and wealthy. What happens in Africa will affect the rest of the globe — and we want to work together to ensure it is bright, safe and prosperous. Our stories have always been intertwined. Today we know that our success...

09 November 2023 | REUBEN E BRIGETY II

Exploring synergies between AGOA and AfCFTA: The case for African exports

Africa is often characterised as a continent poised for economic growth and development. Often, prosperity and development in Africa can be linked back to exports and the benefits that they generate. This brings to the forefront the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and its role in opening American markets to 35 African countries, as well as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to increase socio-economic development, reduce poverty, and make Africa more competitive in the global economy through the...

09 November 2023 | Bill Blackie

African and US trade unions call for decent work in trade and economic cooperation

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2-4 November, to strategize ways to strengthen an inclusive trading partnership between the US and 35 eligible African countries.  AGOA is a US law which was signed in 2000 aimed at creating duty free access for eligible African countries to the US markets. Eligibility criteria includes adopting market-based economies, the rule of law, political pluralism, making efforts to curb corruption, introducing poverty reduction policies, increasing...

09 November 2023

Kenya-US to deepen ICT, apparel and agriculture trade

Kenya and United States are in talks to identify areas of interest in information communication technology (ICT) sector that can interest US firms.  A meeting between The US Ambassador to Kenya, Megan Whitman, and the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade, and Industry Rebecca Miano, the states sought cooperation in six key areas. The meeting laid the groundwork for an enhanced collaboration between Kenya and the United States in Apparel Sector by leveraging Kenya's renewable energy and young population for supply chain...

09 November 2023 | JACKTONE LAWI

Prosper Africa coordinates 17 US agencies to help boost Africa’s low participation in AGOA

The US has mobilised 17 relevant government departments and agencies under the umbrella of Prosper Africa coordinator British Robinson to try to clinch deals between US and African businesses that will increase utilisation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). The 20th annual Agoa Forum ended in Johannesburg at the weekend with an all-round commitment by Africa and the US to renew the preferential trade programme when it expires in 2025. There was also considerable discussion about how to increase the usage by eligible...

09 November 2023 | Peter Fabricius

US Senator Chris Coons proposes AGOA extension by 16 years, immediate review of SA’s AGOA eligibility

Powerful US Democratic Party Senator Chris Coons is circulating a discussion draft of a Bill to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) for 16 years that would also require an immediate “out-of-cycle” review of South Africa’s eligibility for Agoa. That could lead to South Africa being removed next year from the programme, which has provided considerable benefits to SA exporters to the US of cars, fruits and wine, in particular.  Coons released the draft Bill on Monday, after the annual Agoa Forum was held...

07 November 2023 | Peter Fabricius

AGOA extension crucial for Ghana’s industrialisation

The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei is supporting the push for the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to enhance trade between Ghana and the US. A United States Trade Act enacted on 18 May 2000 as Public Law 106 of the 200th Congress, the AGOA legislation has been renewed on different occasions, most recently in 2015, when its period of validity was extended to September 2025. The legislation significantly enhances market access to the US for qualifying Sub-Saharan African (SSA)...

06 November 2023 | Ernest K. Arhinful

US-Africa program (AGOA) should be extended through 2041, Senate Democrat says, proposes legislation [Download]

A trade program that grants exports from qualifying African countries duty-free access to the U.S. market should be extended by 16 years, said Democratic Senator Chris Coons, a leading voice on U.S.-Africa policy. Talks are underway for the renewal of the two-decade-old African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is due to expire in 2025. African countries want a 10-year renewal of the pact ahead of the 2024 U.S. election. President Joe Biden's administration is also seeking the program's reauthorization but has called for certain...

06 November 2023 | Makini Brice

AGOA benefits extend beyond trade [incl. VIDEO of Friday's opening session]

Economies in Sub-Saharan countries stand to benefit far more from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) than notable trade statistics, says President Cyril Ramaphosa. “AGOA enhances the diversification of African economies, enabling them to export value-added products. By enabling African countries to have preferential access to the US market, this opportunity incentivises African countries to develop and export value-added goods and services. This does and will continue to reduce Africa's dependence on primary commodities and...

06 November 2023

Protection likely for African countries that outgrow AGOA

The improved agreement of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), due to expire in 2025, is likely to have fewer requirements for graduation from the programme to avoid beneficiaries losing out on the lucrative commercial ties with the US, says a top Washington diplomat. The legislation, which was enacted in 2000 and allows Sub-Saharan African countries preferential access to US markets, requires that beneficiaries be graduated out of the programme once they reach a certain level of development. But US trade representative Katherine...

06 November 2023 | THANDO MAEKO

Uganda criticises US plan to exclude it from duty-free trade programme

Uganda on Wednesday criticised a US move to eject it and other African countries from accessing a tariff-free trade programme, saying the action was to punish African countries that are resisting the imposition of the West's cultural values. US President Joe Biden said on Monday that he intended to end the participation of Uganda, Gabon, Niger and the Central African Republic in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program. Uganda and Central Africa Republic would be blocked because of "gross violations" of internationally...

05 November 2023 | Isaac Kaledzi

Beyond 2025: The AGOA summit’s bid for extended economic ties on the continent

The recent AGOA summit in Johannesburg beckoned calls for its extension beyond September 2025. With a backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and US-Africa relations at a delicate juncture, the summit explored the potential reshaping of trade norms, eyeing a more balanced economic relationship. The annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) summit was held in Johannesburg, South Africa last week, amidst landmark changes, with calls for its renewal beyond the current expiry in September 2025. It was also announced that four...

05 November 2023 | Yeshiel Panchia

South Africa pins its hopes on an early 2024 US Congress renewal of AGOA

South Africa’s government is hoping that the process to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) by the US Congress will be concluded by early 2024, ensuring that more than 20 African countries continue to have duty-free access to the world’s largest economy.   This is the first time that the South African government has given a timeline for when it hopes the US Congress might extend Agoa, which has been renewed twice since it was launched in 2000, and is due to expire in September 2025.  In his closing...

05 November 2023 | Ray Mahlaka

New deal for African, US companies to partner under AfCFTA

African and US companies will soon enjoy a partnership of trading and investment building on provisions provided under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). This is according to a new Memorandum of Understanding signed between the AfCFTA Secretariat and Corporate Council on Africa – an American organisation devoted to fostering US-Africa business relations – with an aim to increase private sector support and involvement in realising the goals of the continental trade agreement. The MOU is articulated around key sectors...

04 November 2023 | Alice Kagina

AGOA: US vows to support regional integration

The United States says it is committed to supporting regional integration in Africa, seeing it as essential for the continent's economic development and prosperity. At a conference on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) in Johannesburg, US officials said they were backing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), even though there will be variations on country specific trading arrangements. Agoa is a trade agreement that provides duty-free access to the US market for special categories of products from eligible...

04 November 2023 | PETER DUBE

Remarks by USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai at the closing ceremony of the 20th AGOA Forum

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today delivered remarks during the closing ceremony of the 20th African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum. In her remarks, Ambassador Tai reiterated the United States’ commitment to strengthen the U.S.-Africa trade and investment relationship to deliver real opportunities across our societies. Ambassador Tai also highlighted the need to make the AGOA program more effective and relevant to today’s challenges, and to explore additional areas of cooperation to complement the...

04 November 2023

‘Time is of the essence’ as African leaders seek AGOA refinements

African leaders are asking for refinements to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), rather than a full review, according to trade and industry minister Ebrahim Patel. Patel was giving his closing remarks during the final stretch of the 20th Agoa forum. “We were clear that we did not want a major rewrite of Agoa. We’re not looking for Agoa to be scrapped and a complete rewrite,” the minister said. “We’re looking for refinements. And the reason for that is, every African minister who spoke emphasised that...

04 November 2023 | Sarah Smit

Africa to leverage East-West battle in AGOA talks

In 1998, Bill Clinton embarked on the longest and most extensive trip to Africa by any sitting US president in history at the time. His goal? To forge ties with a continent which was viewed as something of a backwater during the Cold War. During a speech he gave after meeting South Africa’s then president, Nelson Mandela, Clinton remarked that the hope for Africa’s future was stronger than it had been in a generation. Two years later, he signed the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) into law, putting the...

03 November 2023 | Sarah Smit

US committed to ‘seamless’ AGOA renewal, USTR Tai says

The US aims to ensure that its preferential trade pact with Africa is replaced without interruption when it expires in two-year’s time, while bringing it up to date. “We want to make sure that as of Sept. 30, 2025, that there will be another Agoa that will pick up from this one,” said US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, referring to the African Growth and Opportunity Act. “It is a seamless renewal that we’re looking for,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Johannesburg broadcast on...

03 November 2023 | Jennifer Zabasajja and S'thembile Cele

US president Biden wants to improve US-Africa trade programme, not just renew it - Blinken

President Joe Biden's administration wants to work with Congress to improve the United States' flagship trade programme with Africa, not just renew it without changes, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday. First launched in 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) grants exports from qualifying African countries duty-free access to the United States - the world's largest consumer market. It is due to expire in September 2025, and discussions are currently under way over what would be its...

03 November 2023 | Joe Bavier, Nellie Peyton and Bhargav Acharya

US faces tricky questions with African trade group

As the United States seeks to deepen its relationships with African nations and counter the influence of rivals like Russia and China, it confronts a tricky question: How does it respond when countries do things that run afoul of Washington’s stated commitment to democracy and human rights? That tension hung over a major trade conference between the U.S. and African countries that started in Johannesburg this week, after President Biden announced that he was suspending four nations from a critical trade program that aims to...

03 November 2023 | John Eligon and Lynsey Chutel

AGOA needs at least 10-year extension, AU, ministers, say

Africa wants the US Congress to renew its flagship trade programme for the continent for at least 10 years, the African Union’s top trade official said on Thursday, adding that any modifications to the initiative should only be considered later. Speaking at the start of three days of meetings of African trade ministers and US officials, AU Trade Commissioner Albert Muchanga also said the United States will not be granted tariff free access to a new African free trade area. First launched in 2000, the African Growth and...

02 November 2023

Africa pushes for three-year AGOA reviews

African trade ministers, including South Africa’s, are pushing for the annual eligibility reviews of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) to be conducted every three years instead of annually to allow for predictability and certainty for investors. This is after four beneficiary countries, Uganda, Niger, the Central African Republic and Gabon, were kicked out of the trade programme on the eve of the forum’s annual summit in Johannesburg partially because of human rights issues. Agoa requires that US legislators conduct annual...

02 November 2023 | THANDO MAEKO

AGOA Forum: Has the US trade pact helped Africa?

The future of what was billed as a game-changing trade agreement between Africa and the US is up for discussion in the South African city of Johannesburg over the next few days, with calls for it to be turned into a much longer-term pact, despite some criticism of the deal. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) was signed into law by former United States President Bill Clinton in May 2000, in a bid to improve trade and investment ties with sub-Saharan Africa on the basis that the best way to raise living standards on the continent...

02 November 2023 | Jewel Kiriungi

Statement from President Biden on AGOA reauthorization

I strongly support reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act— a landmark, bipartisan law that has formed a bedrock for U.S. trade with sub-Saharan Africa for more than two decades. I encourage Congress to reauthorize AGOA in a timely fashion and to modernize this important Act for the economic opportunities of the coming decade. AGOA is facilitating private-sector led economic growth across sub-Saharan Africa by increasing the competitiveness of African products, diversifying African exports, and enabling the creation of...

01 November 2023

Statement from USTR Tai on the AGOA eligibility review, Mauritania to be reinstated

President Biden decided to reinstate African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program benefits for one country, Mauritania, and to terminate benefits for four countries – Gabon, Niger, the Central African Republic, and Uganda – effective January 1, 2024. Based on the results of the annual AGOA eligibility review, Mauritania’s eligibility will be reinstated based on progress that it has made with respect to the 2019 termination of its benefits due to worker rights concerns, as well as the government’s willingness to...

31 October 2023

Notice of intention to terminate AGOA preferences for Uganda, Gabon, Niger and the Central African Republic, reinstate Mauritania

Dear Mr. Speaker:   (Dear Madam President:) In accordance with section 506A(a)(3)(B) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2466a(a)(3)(B)), I am providing advance notification of my intent to terminate the designation of the Central African Republic, the Gabonese Republic (Gabon), Niger, and the Republic of Uganda (Uganda) as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). I am taking this step because I have determined that the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and...

31 October 2023

US sets sights on improved AGOA

This was the message of a briefing by United States officials ahead of this week’s AGOA forum in Johannesburg, where the trade pact’s renewal will be discussed.  The trade deal — which provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the US market — is due to expire in 2025. Agoa beneficiaries will be asking for the Act, which was signed into law during Bill Clinton’s administration, be renewed for another 10 years. “When Agoa was enacted in 2000, we hoped that it would be a game-changer for...

30 October 2023 | Sarah Smit

Senators Coons, Scott, colleagues call on Senate to prioritize reauthorizing AGOA [Letter]

  U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) led 11 of their Senate colleagues in an open letter, urging Senate leadership to prioritize reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in the coming months. AGOA’s authorization expires in September 2025.  The Senators write, “The African Growth and Opportunity Act is the foundation of the United States’ economic relationship with sub-Saharan Africa. By lowering the cost of trade and encouraging investment in the region, AGOA creates...

27 October 2023

Stakeholders seek US Congress nod for AGOA’s extension

Ahead of the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum, to be hosted by South Africa next week, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa, Constance Hamilton, has expressed hope that the U.S. Congress would renew AGOA once again and ensure increased support for regional integration in Africa. Hamilton spoke yesterday during a digital press briefing to highlight the importance of U.S.-Africa economic ties and the 20th AGOA Forum as an opportunity to receive feedback from African partners and private sector...

27 October 2023 | Tope Templer Olaiya

US official reveals Ethiopia’s request for AGOA eligibility ‘still pending’, decision unlikely at upcoming forum

A US State Department official has disclosed that the decision to reinstate Ethiopia’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is “still pending”. Constance Hamilton, Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa, made this statement during a digital press briefing held on Thursday.  “Those decisions are still pending,” Ms Hamilton told journalists from the continent, and that “there probably will not be an announcement at the time that we get to the AGOA Forum,” she said referring to the upcoming...

27 October 2023

AGOA: South Africa ready to roll out the red carpet for the US

Trade, industry & competition minister Ebrahim Patel says SA is ready to roll out the red carpet for the US ahead of the 20th African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum taking place at Nasrec in Johannesburg next week. “What we are seeking to do is provide a platform in the discussion to reflect on the experience that the African continent and the US has had on Agoa, to look at how we can get more from the trade relationship by complementing Agoa with other measures and the common African position on Agoa, which is to have...

27 October 2023 | AMANDA KHOZA

AGOA Forum 2023 Resources

The 2023 AGOA Forum will be taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 2-4 November. It features a ministerial and private sector program, as well as a private sector expo, that includes B2B sourcing and matchmaking.  Visit the   AGOA.info Forum section by following this link or use the drop down menu in the menu bar. Downloads and links are also available in that section, including draft agenda details. As further information is finalised, additional details will be added.    Selected background...

26 October 2023

SA trade minister Patel expresses confidence at media briefing about South Africa’s continued inclusion in AGOA

Ahead of South Africa hosting the US-AfricaTrade and Economic Cooperation Forum – also called the AGOA Forum – from November 2 to 4, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel on October 26 briefed the media on the state of readiness for the forum, expressing confidence that the South African government’s relations with the US were strong. Various South African stakeholders have been motivating for the extension and renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) US preferential trade...

26 October 2023 | Chanel de Bruyn

Large African delegation expected to attend the AGOA Forum in South Africa

A large number of African Trade Ministers and their delegations are expected to attend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum taking place in South Africa next week. “The US delegation at the Forum will be led by the US Trade Secretary Ambassador [Katherine Tai] together with members of the Congress, businesspeople and business delegation from around the continent,” Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel said. Addressing the media on the state of South Africa’s readiness to host the AGOA Forum in Sandton,...

26 October 2023

AGOA Forum 2023: Digital press briefing with officials in the USTR and State Department [Transcript]

MODERATOR:  All right.  Good afternoon to everyone from the U.S. Department of State’s Africa Regional Media Hub.  I welcome our participants logging in from across the continent and thank all of you for joining this discussion.  Today, we are very pleased to be joined by the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa Constance Hamilton and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs of the State Department Joy Basu.  Our speakers will be discussing the importance of the U.S.-Africa...

26 October 2023

South Africa trade minister Patel to brief media on state of readiness for AGOA Forum on 26 October [WATCH]

Members of the media are invited to attend and cover a crucial engagement where the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Ebrahim Patel will provide a comprehensive update on South Africa's preparedness for hosting the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum, along with insights into the forthcoming program. Your attendance and coverage are highly valued. Event Details: Date              : Thursday, 26 October 2023Time              : 09:45Venue...

25 October 2023 | Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations 

Business Leadership SA calls for business to capitalise on South Africa’s hosting of AGOA Forum

It is notable that South Africa will still host the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Private Sector Forum next month, given that several US lawmakers have called for it to be moved elsewhere, and have questioned the country’s preferential trade terms with the US under Agoa as such preferential access to the US markets is open only to African countries that do not threaten American security interests. This is according to business organisation Business Leadership...

24 October 2023 | Tasneem Bulbulia

US senator wants AGOA in place until 2045 to deter China’s influence

The legislation that allows Sub-Saharan African countries, including SA, preferential access to US markets could be extended by 20 years beyond 2025 if the US Congress approves a bill introduced by Louisiana senator John Kennedy. Kennedy wants the legislation extended to 2045 because it would help deter “China’s growing influence throughout the region. This extension would allow the US to keep working closely with African nations to grow our economies, reduce poverty and ensure that US values prevail in the region,” according to a...

19 October 2023 | THANDO MAEKO

'South Africa expected to retain its AGOA status despite differences with US'

It is almost certain that South Africa’s Agoa status will be renewed despite it and the US often being on opposite sides over geopolitical crises in the past year. The eligibility of countries for the US’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) has been under review during the past few months, and it is becoming clearer that South Africa is one of the countries that will continue being a part of the trade programme. A strong indication of this is that the annual AGOA Forum will take place in Johannesburg between 1-4...

19 October 2023 | Queenin Masuabi and Peter Fabricius

How can the US and Africa build on AGOA to boost trade relations?

The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is unilateral and non-reciprocal US legislation that aims to promote trans-border trade between the US and African nations. It enables the US to give preferential trade benefits to African countries that satisfy eligibility requirements: these include social, political and economic governance targets. In 2019, however, the emergence of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) created uncertainties over the renewal of AGOA, which expires in 2025. Some observers suggested that instead...

18 October 2023 | Val Okaru-Bisant and Frank Samolis

Optimism as Kenya-US trade deal enters 3rd round of negotiations

Trade negotiations between Kenya and the United States entered the third round last week, with four items listed for negotiations. The Kenya-US Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) negotiations, held from October 4-7 in Washington DC, covered agriculture and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, services, domestic regulations, anti-corruption; and women, youth among others. The Kenyan trade team also held discussions with staff from the US Congress and Senate, a significant step in seeking approval from both Houses should...

16 October 2023 | LUKE ANAMI

South Africa: Entrepreneurial sisters venture into US market [WATCH]

It was a drive to explore international trade that saw entrepreneurial sisters, Michelle and Mo Mokone, grabbing an opportunity to venture into the United States of America market. The pair are the co-owners of Mo’s Crib, a company that produces a range of handmade home décor products.  Their product range includes handwoven baskets, planters, trays, wall art and home outdoor items. It was in 2021 that the pair decided to take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a United States Trade Act, which was enacted...

09 October 2023

US Senator Kennedy introduces bill to extend AGOA by 20 years

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today introduced the AGOA Extension Act of 2023, a bill that would extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through September 2045. The AGOA has been key in helping the United States work with sub-Saharan Africa to facilitate trade, reduce poverty, promote democracy and counter China’s growing influence in the region. “The African Growth and Opportunity Act has been the cornerstone of economic ties between the United States and Africa. Over the next two decades, the AGOA will play a pivotal role in...

02 October 2023
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