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With only about a week left, the United States government says it is "disheartened" by Lesotho's failure to address its human trafficking concerns. This puts the country on the brink, with the real risk of losing billions of maloti in funding under the second compact and about 45 000 textiles jobs facing serious jeopardy. The US had given Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro's government a 1 February 2021 deadline to address an array of human trafficking concerns failing which Lesotho would lose out on a number of American aid and trade...

The direction that President Joe Biden will give to the U.S.-Africa relationship will be highly scrutinized as he brings America’s diplomacy back to the global stage. Democracy and the economy are the two fundamental areas of cooperation that he can use to rebuild ties. On U.S. efforts to advance democracy in Africa, two events over the past decade stand out. Speaking in Accra in 2009, President Barack Obama called “strong institutions” the foundation of democracy, as opposed to “strongmen” perpetuating presidencies for life. On...

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Vincent Biruta, has said that Rwanda is ready to strengthen ties with the administration of the new President of the United States, Joe Biden. Biden was sworn-in on January 20, becoming the 46th President of the US. "We are ready to continue working with the new administration in strengthening existing relations between our two countries including levelling up existing cooperation in areas of mutual interest," Biruta, who is also the Government's Spokesperson told The New...

Director General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Muda Yusuf, told DEBO OLADIMEJI that he expects more support for Nigeria from the United States (US) under the Biden administration.  What are the economic implications of Joe Biden Presidency For Nigeria?There is likely to be some positive changes as far as bilateral economic and trade relations are concerned.  The US-Nigeria Bi-national Commission, which has been in place for about 10 years, is likely to gain some traction under Biden...

Kenya hopes to resume trade talks with the US after change of guard at the White House with President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.  The country is optimistic of speedy resumption of negotiations, with hopes the Biden administration will warm up to Africa, and Kenya as an investment destination and trade partner. The negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which commenced on July 8, last year,  stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent US elections. Talks later resumed with the first and second...

The United States government has announced the opening up of several new ports for the import for citrus products from South Africa, further facilitating two-way trade with South Africa. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service published a final notice in the U.S. Federal Register on November 5th [see document alongside] approving the use of additional ports options for South African citrus growers.   Previously, the South African citrus industry was limited to the use of only four...

A cloud of uncertainty has engulfed Kenya’s pursuit of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States due to the impending change of guard at the White House.  Even before he takes office, President-elect Joe Biden has sent strong indications of plans to annul many of President Donald Trump’s policies, cutting across trade, environment and geopolitics - something that has Kenya on edge over the ongoing negotiations for a bilateral FTA.  Anxiety in Nairobi has been exacerbated by the unexpected resignation of U.S....

Yesterday evening, President Donald J. Trump issued a proclamation reinstating the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) eligibility for trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).  This decision affirms the DRC’s progress in meeting AGOA’s rigorous eligibility requirements as established by the U.S. Congress and President Tshisekedi’s efforts to reform and strengthen the DRC’s democratic institutions, protect human rights, and to combat corruption.  The reinstatement recognizes the DRC’s...

Kenyan exports to America under the Africa Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) hit Sh67 billion last year, a marginal increase of 3.7 per cent from Sh64 billion recorded in the previous year. According to the latest report from the Office of the US Trade Representative, Kenya emerged the fourth exporter under Agoa, after Nigeria (Sh310 billion), South Africa (Sh200 billion) and Angola (Sh60 billion) in Africa. “Kenya is currently our 96th largest goods trading partner with Sh110 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2019,” said the...

Nigeria’s export to the United States under a duty-free policy declined in the first nine months of 2020, recording $351.73m from January to September. According to the latest African Growth and Opportunity Act policy trade statistics, exports to the US under the policy fell by 86.97 per cent from $2,699.13m in the first nine months of 2019 to $351.73m in the corresponding period in 2020. The AGOA, a United States’ trade policy, enacted in 2000, is a legislation that facilitates a duty-free trade between exporters from sub-Saharan...