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Growth in South Africa's exports to the US continues to accelerate.Figures released this month by the US International Trade Commission show that in the year to August, South Africa exported goods to the value of $4.9 billion (R37 billion) to the US. This represents growth of 29 percent from the same period last year, up from growth of 25 percent in the year to June.Of South Africa's total exports in the first eight months, $1.2 billion was exported under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa) trade programme launched in February...

After limping for about six years, the Tri-Star Apparels plant in Bugolobi, popularly known as Agoa has finally wound up .Information available to Daily Monitor indicates that the plant's management has suspended operations and sent workers home without any explanation.The Company's Managing Director, Mr Vellupilai Kanathan ,told Daily Monitor by telephone yesterday that the plant would resume operations in a month's time even as he admitted that "logistical hurdles" had hinted normal progress.He did not elaborate on the nature of the...

Mozambique's Minister of Industry and Trade, Antonio Fernando, declared on Tuesday that the government is working hard to place the country in a more favourable position for attracting investment.Fernando was addressing the closing session of the first meeting on trade between the USA and Mozambique, following the signing of a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between the two countries in 2005.The meeting aimed at assessing the advances in aspects related to trade, the trade environment and investment, and also the...

The second edition of the African Trade and Industrial Development Strategy Forum opened in Yaounde yesterday.There was every evidence at the Yaounde Conference centre yesterday that Sub-Saharan Africa wants to increase its determination to benefit from the opportunity offered by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) voted into law by the American Congress to boost trade between the African continent and the United States of American. If all what was said in the six speeches delivered during the opening ceremony of the second edition...

High taxation and prohibitive fuel costs are holding back the growth of the manufacturing sector, say industry players.Mr Steve Smith, the chairman of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), says that the sector has grown in tandem with the economy over the last three years without improving its processes."A close examination reveals that this growth has been driven more by an increase in volume of output than by improvements in efficiency and productivity," he says.The increase in output is largely explained by large exports to the US...

Tanzanian firm Mwanza Textile Mills is eying the world market, including the trillion dollar market in United States, a spokesperson of the mills has said.The MTM Managing Director, Mr Amin Ladhan, told the visiting Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade, Dr David Mathayo David, that his mills would with effect from next fiscal year establish a knitting mill.The mill would produce various apparels stipulated in the US African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides sub-Saharan African countries with an opportunity to export apparels...

A flurry of activity has seen a number of Bills being considered by the US government that could see important amendments to the AGOA legislation. The most recent Bill, by Rep. Bill Thomas (one of the original architects of the AGOA legislation), was submitted a few days ago and is currently with the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration.The Bill, named the “Africa Investment Incentive Act of 2006” (or under its formal code HR6142), can be downloaded from AGOA.info’s archives by following this link. It deals with proposed...

Out of Africa, the headline news is usually related to the legendary four horsemen of the Apocalypse - pestilence, war, famine and death. No question, these horsemen run rampant on the continent; but there is another story worth hearing too.Take, for example, the recent World Bank report, "Doing Business," an annual survey of the countries it is easiest to do business in (Singapore is first, the United States is third). As a whole, sub-Saharan Africa does poorly. South Africa, the highest rated country, is 29th; eight of the bottom 10...

A proposed emergency trade law introduced recently to US Congress appears to have been suspended. The bill which would have extended and amended rules of origin for sub-Sahara African countries came under pressure from influential textile lobbyists. The groups were also concerned over a controversial addition that would allow Haiti to use fabric and yarn from countries in Asia.A trade bill last week introduced to the US Congress extending and modifying the existing duty-free access for AGOA and ATPDEA countries looks set to be suspended...

US Democratic representatives have introduced a Bill known as “The Emergency Trade Program Extension Act of 2006” to extend the Generalized System of Preferences, the Andean trade preference program and African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) for another two years. Below follows a transcript of the proposed legislation, with further explanatory notes provided by AGOA.info in parenthisis.Emergency Trade Program Extension Act of 2006 (Introduced in House)HR 6076 IH 109th CONGRESS2d SessionH. R. 6076To extend the generalized system of...

A high powered Tanzanian business delegation led by President Jakaya Kikwete is in the United States on a historic mission to promote the country’s image internationally, boost trade ties and parade investment opportunities.“Tanzania is endowed with many resources, including vast arable land, wildlife, beaches and minerals. The country is, however, little known internationally for various reasons including lack of publicity.“We have now aggressively embarked on the promotional drive. Gone are the days when good things were said to be...

Development specialists say Africa’s economic potential can not be tapped until the continent has a well-developed infrastructure. The conference is designed to mobilize American investors in the effort. It’s being organized by the Washington-based Corporate Council on Africa, the CCA, and will be held in a Washington suburb. Among the many sponsors are General Electric, and the US Department of Transportation.Stephen Hayes is the president of the CCA. He says there are a number of opportunities for US investors – a point that will be...

The United States and Mauritius signed an agreement September 18 that is intended to strengthen and expand trade ties between the two countries.The agreement, called a trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA), will provide a formal mechanism to address bilateral trade issues and help enhance trade and investment relations."Mauritius' experience demonstrates how trade and investment can fuel economic growth and development," said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Karan Bhatia, who signed the agreement in Washington along with...

Fall elections, a lame-duck congressional session and the final legal paperwork on one agreement are the remaining puzzle pieces affecting when Washington might ratify trade accords with Peru and Colombia.''We think these agreements are great,'' Everett Eissenstat, assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Americas, told participants at The Miami Herald's Americas Conference.''Will these agreements happen?'' Eissenstat asked during the final day of the event at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. ``We think [they] will.''But he added that...

American advocates of increased trade with Africa are warning that Kenya’s clothing-export sector will soon be devastated if Congress fails to amend the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). At issue is a section of Agoa that ends preferential access to the US market next year for African clothing exporters who continue using fabrics made in Asia or in "third parties" apart from the US or Africa.US clothing importers are thought likely to begin shifting orders away from Kenya and other Agoa-eligible countries in the coming months...

On the final day of the annual forum on the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) last month, the United States and Rwanda signed a bilateral agreement aimed at increasing trade flow between the two countries.The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) valued Rwanda's exports to the United States at $6.3 million in 2005, up by 17 percent from 2004.By many projections, Agoa has been a positive outcome for participating countries like Rwanda, but there are still many implementation issues that impede its effectiveness and...

Ghana would host the sixth African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) conference probably in June next year, Mr Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiative (PSI), announced on Friday in Accra.It is expected that 1,000 to 1,500 participants from 37 African countries that are eligible in having unprecedented liberal access to the US market, since 2001 after the Act was signed in May 2000, would attend the conference.Ghana is the third African country to host the annual conference after Washington had hosted...

Based on the latest trade data recently released by US authorities, South Africa is showing solid growth in its agriculture sector exports, with a 16% rise in the year to June. This continues a recent trend whereby the sector’s exports to the US have grown from US$ 208mn in 2003 to US$ 250mn in 2005.Two thirds of South Africa’s US-bound agriculture exports fall under AGOA and are thus able to enter the US duty-free (view the US-SA bilateral trade profile here). Segments in the AGOA category that have shown good growth this year include...

Access by Zambian goods to the US market under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) has not succeeded because of the uncompetitiveness of Zambian products, an American trade expert Amanda Hilligas has said. Hilligas who is AGOA trade advisor for the Southern Africa Global Competitive Hub said there were few Zambian products that could compete with other products on the American market.Speaking during a seminar on the theme ‘Doing business with the US’ at the American Centre in Lusaka yesterday, Hilligas explained that there were...

Ugandans cotton sector is attracting substantial private investment since its liberalization and with rejuvenation continuing rapidly again in one of the nation's most important industries, investors from across the world, including China, are now re-evaluating their options in view of the sector's much-improved prospects for manufacturing in Uganda to export directly to Asia.A doubling of ginning capacity between 1993 and 2001 reflects the renewed confidence in cotton production, while liberalization of the sector provided extra incentives...

A veil of secrecy has been thrown around meetings between Ramatex Executive Director Albert Lim and Government in Windhoek this week.Lim reportedly slipped into the country at the beginning of week.He is said to have held closed-door meetings with Government representatives during the week.For the past two days, no Government official has wanted to comment on Lim's visit, or the talks.Unionists appeared to be unaware of the Ramatex director's visit.Ramatex employees spoken to this week suspect that Lim's visit has to do with speculation that...

Ghana has expressed worry about the uneven nature of product lines and countries exporting items to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and called for a broader product base in order to satisfy the demands of the US market.Addressing a workshop of business operators from 18 West African countries in Accra, Mr Allan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiative (PSI) argued that statistics derived from the West African Trade Hub (WATH) showed that 85 per cent of all AGOA exports...

The efforts of global nongovernmental organisations to get rich countries to open their markets could have unintended negative consequences for many developing countries. ComMark says Lesotho’s textile industry still faces serious challenges, none of which are under its direct control:Major changes to the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), affecting Lesotho, are in the pipeline for September next year. After this date, should Lesotho firms use third-country fabrics to make garments, these exports will not qualify for duty free...

Washington recently hosted the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) forum, an annual event mandated by the Agoa legislation which brings together stakeholders from Africa and the US.Agoa — often misunderstood to be a free-trade agreement between African countries and the US — is in fact a piece of US legislation enacted six years ago which scrapped import duties on about 7000 qualifying tariff lines sourced from (currently 37) eligible sub-Saharan African states.There are two obvious benefits: enhanced competitiveness for...

Officials from the US and African diaspora yesterday urged African countries to look inwards to find economic breakthroughs and much-needed investments.Florizelle Liser, a senior official in the US trade representative office, said African nations had advantages they could learn to exploit. "Africa has a comparative advantage in agriculture. All it needs to do is to follow all the necessary steps, do its homework well to get its products marketable in the US," Liser told the seventh Leo Sullivan H summit in Abuja.The four-day investment...

Stressing gains in financial stability and democratisation, African heads of state meeting with hundreds of foreign business leaders called on Monday for stepped-up investment in the continent.Nigerian foreign minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: "Africa is changing. Both economic and political landscapes are improving."Economic fundamentals in most countries are looking good and are improving each year," she told the Leon H Sullivan Summit, the seventh since 1991.Themed "Africa: A Continent of Opportunities - Building Partnerships for...

The historic African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is helping to stimulate economic growth and investment in sub-Saharan Africa, but it is "not succeeding enough," said Florizelle Liser, assistant U.S. trade representative for Africa.AGOA is a U.S. law that provides duty-free access to wide range of some 6,400 products - including textiles - into the U.S. market for African nations willing to reform their economies along free-market lines. The landmark trade legislation - the first of its kind with Africa - was passed by Congress in 2000...

Following years of playing hardball during the failed SACU-US FTA negotiations, it seems as if the United States is engaging in a new push for Africa. The latter was hardly on the US policy agenda a decade ago when the original African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) legislation was introduced to Congress in the late 1990’s; since then, AGOA (through clever marketing often seen on the continent as the panacea for Africa’s disproportionately low participation in international trade) has not only changed the way in which the private...

A trade agreement permitting duty-free imports of Kenya-made textile and clothing made by extended beyond next year.The extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which has helped textile industries thrive, would be a welcome relief to firms at the Export Processing Zones. The companies have seen their exports drop after the removal of preferential quotas favouring poor countries.Trade and Industry minister Mukhisa Kituyi said that three of the four countries which were against an application to the World Trade Organisation...

As the “development round” of trade talks moves into its final stages, it is becoming increasingly clear the goal of promoting development will not be served and the multilateral trade system will be undermined. Nowhere is this clearer than in a provision that is supposed to give the least developed countries almost duty-free access to developed countries’ markets. A year ago, the leaders of the world’s richest countries committed themselves to alleviating the plight of the poorest. At Doha, in November 2001, they pledged to give...

Francophone and Lusophone African countries are mobilising to reap the maximum trade benefits offered by the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) that sets out to facilitate the sell of African products in American markets. In order to realise the objective, Francophone and Lusophone African countries after observing that they did benefit from the business opportunities offered by the US, in 2004 created a network called "AGOA-net".Members of the delegation of AGOA-net yesterday held talks with Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni during an...

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Kadie Sesay has said in Freetown that the West Africa Trade Hub (WATH), a USAID Africa trade development project based in Accra, Ghana and Dakarr Senegal, is made up of experts who help countries and businesses to take advantage of the US Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). She was speaking at the end of a three-day national workshop on Sanitary and Photo-sanitary (SPS) Regional Harmonization, which was held at the Miatta Conference Hall, Youyi Building. The workshop was organized by Standard...

Lesotho's single largest employer, the textile industry, has made a remarkable comeback, setting an example for the region and giving thousands back their jobs."All the factories that were closed have been reopened - the number of jobs that had shrunk from just over 50,000 to below 40,000 have now climbed back to around 47,000," Andy Salm, Regional Textile and Apparel Specialist at ComMark Trust, an NGO that monitors the industry in Southern Africa, told IRIN.Lesotho was an early victim of cheap Chinese exports to the key US market when the...

The imminent expiry of third country fabric sourcing under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) poses a great challenge to African countries, including Uganda that are exporting apparels to the US market under the quota and tariff-free initiative.The third country fabric sourcing expires on September 30, 2007. The extension of this critical provision would determine the survival of the few textile factories on the continent and the retention of the remaining 200,000 jobs. Up to 100,000 jobs have already been lost across the...

Overdependence on textile exports is partly to blame for the woes now facing Kenya two years before a key trade treaty with the United States runs out.The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) purports to offer textile producers from the continent preferential access to the United States market.But now the Export Promotion Council (EPC) is advising producers to begin diversifying if they wish to be cushioned against competition from Asian textile producers before the treaty ends in 2008.PromotionEPC chief executive Matanda Wabuyele said...

Namibia's grape markets are set to increase with the likelihood that the country will start exporting grapes to the USA through the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) from next year.With the oversupply of traditional grape markets, namely Europe and UK, the move will improve the prices that Namibia gets at present."We never had a market to the USA. If a market can open for us we will be able to get rid of excess fruit," said André Vermaak, General Manager: Group of Companies of the Grape Value Management Company in Noordoewer.Getting...

Mauritius is shifting attention to southern Africa as it seeks to revive the fortunes of its key textiles sector affected by the 2005 removal of export privileges into the United States and European Union (EU).A mountainous island on the Indian Ocean to the east of Madagascar, Mauritius is one of the countries negatively affected by the 2005 removal of a quota system that had protected European, American and Canadian textile industries from cheap Asian imports while guaranteeing easy access to African textile and apparel producers.The new...

After calling off negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with five Southern African countries last month, the US has indicated its intentions to negotiate new trade arrangements with several African countries including Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique and Ghana.The last two, which are significant recipients of US aid in Africa, have already approached Washington, confirming the seriousness of their intention.The new strategy signals a radical shift in US approach towards Africa, which has previously not featured significantly in the US...

South African clothing manufacturers and designers should concentrate on producing high quality, "distinctively South African" clothing that could capture niche markets which were not in direct competition with the efficient Chinese, Free Market Foundation director Eustace Davie and economist Jasson Urbach said.In an article released on Wednesday entitled "Strengthening strategic ties with China" in the context of the visit of Premier Wen Jiabao of China to President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday, the two said: "South African manufacturers should...

When the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was enacted in 2001, the legislation "changed U.S. political discourse with African countries from begging bowl to business partner," David Beckman, president of Bread for the World, told a gathering of non-governmental organizations convened to examine Agoa's impact on economic growth and poverty reduction on the African continent.Over the past five years, the law has reduced trade barriers and stimulated job creation and opportunities for private enterprises in those African countries that...

On Monday, June 5th, 2006, the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) held a highly successful one-day African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Private Sector Forum in Washington, D.C. CCA’s Private Sector Forum complemented the 2006 AGOA Ministerial hosted by the U.S. Department of State from June 6th to 7th, 2006, the AGOA Civil Society Forum hosted by Bread for the World also on June 6th and 7th, and the AGOA Investment Summit hosted by The Whitaker Group on June 7th. Two hundred and seventy-five U.S. and African public and private sector...

Pictures from the 2006 Annual AGOA Forum held in Washington, D.C. from 05 June to 07 June.Remarks by Ambassador Karan Bhatia, Deputy US Trade RepresentativeFrom left to right: Ambassador Karan Bhatia, Deputy US Trade Representative; Bobby Pittman, Principal Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; Mr Stephen Hayes, President of the Corporate Council on AfricaAt the Panel Workshop on African Textiles and Apparel: Mr Paul Ryberg, President, Africa Coalition for Trade; Ms Florizelle Liser, Assistant USTR for Africa, Mr Wilson Hunt,...

Secretary Rice: Thank you very much. Since Jendayi told you something about me that you might not know, I have to tell you something about Jendayi that you might not know. Jendayi, in fact, was my student at Stanford University when she was a sophomore. And she was sitting in the back of the class and she already had a strong interest in Africa and over the years I want to say that I've learned more about Africa from her than probably she has from me. Jendayi, thank you for your leadership. (Applause.)Unless you think that this connection...

As part of the AGOA Forum in Washington, participants in the Civil Society Forum were provided with the unique opportunity to meet directly with various US Senators on Capitol Hill and to discuss current issues and concerns. These Senators included the original architects of the AGOA trade legislation, as well as subsequent legislative amendments such as the extension of AGOA’s fabric provisions to 2007. Delegates were further provided with the opportunity of an intensive consultative session with various Congressional Staffers, who are...

Both Americans and Africans prosper under conditions created by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and therefore the United States stands committed to helping the people of Africa realize their aspirations through partnership, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged June 6 (Read a transcript of her speech here)."Our policy toward Africa is rooted in partnership, not paternalism, in doing things with the peoples of Africa, not for the peoples of Africa," Rice said, opening the fifth annual AGOA Forum.Rice called AGOA a...

Speaking at a conference in Washington June 6, Randall L. Tobias, director for U.S. foreign assistance and administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), affirmed the United States' commitment to the African private sector. However, he also emphasized African governments' responsibility to their own people."Working together, we can make a difference in developing a better future for children, and their mothers and fathers all across the African continent," Tobias said in remarks to the opening day of the fifth...

The 2006 AGOA Forum commenced Monday 05 June in Washington D.C. with a gathering of private sector stakeholders and government officials from both sides of the Atlantic. The AGOA Forum comprises three events: the Ministerial, comprising meetings between African trade ministers (with most AGOA beneficiaries represented) and their US counterparts, a parallel Private Sector Forum (providing an interface between government officials and the private sector), and the Civil Society Forum which brought together stakeholders from a wide variety of...

The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) announced today that the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, will open the 2006 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Private Sector Forum on June 5, 2006 in Washington, D.C. Ambassador Karan K. Bhatia, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, will also provide remarks at the opening plenary on Monday morning at the Hilton Washington hotel.Another highlight of this year's AGOA Private Sector Forum is a luncheon featuring the Ministers of Trade from the 37 countries eligible under...

Operating a spinning machine at an Eritrean textile factory: In face of stiff competition, it is not easy for African manufacturers to modernize their operations.All across Africa, textile producers and exporters are reeling from the impact of new trade rules that took effect in January 2005. The rules, negotiated at the World Trade Organization (WTO), opened up to market forces a sector that had been protected for more than 30 years. It did so by ending a quota system in industrial nations which as a side effect had provided a ready market...

Malawi's export to the United States, under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has totalled close to $90mn, said Malawi's Ministry of Trade and Private Sector Development.Harrison Mandindi said that Malawi had managed to increase exports to the US under AGOA, but that many viable export opportunities still need to be tapped into.Mandindi said that Malawi had registered an increase in volumes of exported dried fruits, macadamia nuts and textile products."We are the largest exporter of dried fruits like mango and nuts to the United...