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The current strength of the rand is good news for most businesses and consumers, but the clothing and textile industries are bearing the brunt of the stronger currency.The rand's volatility and its current strength against the US dollar is worrying exporters in the clothing industry.Chairman of the Export Council for the Clothing Industry in South Africa, Jack Kipling, said exports of clothing are expected to decline this year, and could lead to job losses."International buyers are able to exercise wide choice in sourcing product from...

What is SA's loss is our neighbours' gain. Taiwanese textile and clothing companies have established dozens of factories in Lesotho and, more recently, Swaziland to take advantage of favourable export deals between Africa and the US. What is interesting though is why they are avoiding SA, which is also one of the beneficiaries of the African Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa) that provides duty-free access to clothing and textile imports from 35 African countries. The first Taiwanese investment drive into the region came in the 1980s when they...

The department of trade and industry (DTI) is to consult widely with local business, and within Nedlac, on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.DTI's chief negotiator in the trade talks, Xavier Carim, on Thursday told Parliament's trade and industry portfolio committee that government would spend the coming "few months" interacting with business, as the negotiations gather pace.It was hoped the final agreement, between the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the US, would be in place by the end of next year,...

Mr Xavier Carim, South Africa' Chief Director for Trade negotiations, says the Southern African Custom Union (SACU) and the United States will find ways to manage 'sensitive issues' such as agricultural subsidies as negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) progresses.Briefing the media after the second round of the FTA's two-day long negotiations in Johannesburg yesterday, Mr Carim said the sensitive issues of agricultural subsidies, textile and clothing would be 'managed' come the 2004 deadline.'There are areas on Sacu's side where we...

An Inspector hired by the US-based retail chain The Gap is measuring up a garment at the Lesotho Fancy Garments Group.He has spent two months at the sprawling factory in the capital Maseru ensuring that standards are up to scratch to meet the requirements for The Gap's order."It's all been fine. No problems so far," says Jimmy Lasum.Apart from making garments for The Gap, Lesotho Fancy Garments Group is also manufacturing for US department stores, including JC Penney, Target, WalMart and Sears.The economy of tiny Lesotho with a population of...

The proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the United States will open new markets for the customs union countries. It also has potential pitfalls. SACU, whose members are South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland, began trade talks with the US in May and these will resume this month. The proposed FTA will be the second most significant trade relationship exercise between the US and African countries after the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). AGOA removes US import...

US companies operating in SA are adopting a more favourable outlook on local domestic investment, a survey conducted in June by the American Chamber of Commerce has revealed.Of the more than 80 members of the chamber who responded to the annual survey, more than half indicated that the economic climate in SA was either excellent or good, with 40% reporting it as variable.Only 5% which the chamber's executive director, Luanne Grant, said was an "encouraging sign" said that the economic climate was poor, compared with 28%in last year's...

Addis Ababa - Pacing his garment factory, 47-year-old Worku Zewde bends down to pick up a piece of cloth that has dropped on the floor.At least 250 young men and women sit at sewing machines, measuring, cutting and stitching fabric from Taiwan at Garment Express, a joint venture between Worku and a US investor.The factory produces baseball, basketball, American football and soccer jerseys under the brand Champro Sports Equipment. The product enters the US duty free under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).US President George W...

President Olusegun Obasanjo may sign the legislation on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which seeks to punish defaulters on trans-shipment, into law in a few days.Special Adviser to the President on AGOA, Mrs. Modupe Sasore, who disclosed this over the weekend in Abuja, said the legislation had already been sent to Obasanjo for his assent by the National Assembly.She explained that part of the new legislation on AGOA specifies the penalty of payment of the values of the products for defaulters of any trans-shipment.Sasore...

African countries had high expectations that the next World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in September would be the culmination of a "development round" of talks focused on establishing new trade regulations that benefit developing countries. But the WTO talks have stalemated in disputes between Europe and the U.S."On none of the issues of concern to the developing countries has there been any progress," says the Mauritius Minister of Industry and International Trade, Jaya Cuttaree. One month before the WTO meeting is scheduled to...

Apparel exports had been growing at a rate of more than 38% a year for the past four years said Clothing Industry Export Council chairman Jack Kipling. The latest manufacturing production figures from Statistics SA show that in the period March to May, one of the major contributors to the 0,9% fall in the index after seasonal adjustment was the 10,7% quarterly fall in total textile production and 11,1% fall in the total production of wearing apparel. Customs and excise trade figures for May show that exports of textiles and textile...

SA is a major beneficiary of nonenergy exports to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), says economist Eckart Naumann. He was giving at a presentation to the Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa. He suggests that the response within Africa is "still fairly polarised", with SA having taken the lion's share of nonenergy and nontextile exports under Agoa. "Agoa significantly liberalises trade between the US and 38 designated sub-Saharan African countries by removing import tariffs on approximately 7000 goods," says...

THE real question about the proposed free-trade agreement between the US and the trading partners of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) is whether it can benefit SA more than the existing African Growth and Opportunitiy Act (Agoa). After all, Agoa already gave SA easier access to US markets for most goods, and the US wants to include a lot of nontrade issues in the free-trade agreement that could limit government's ability to drive economic development.Through Agoa, the US provided unilateral tariff cuts that brought real benefits. SA...

THE final approval of six Zambia's agricultural products to be exported to America under AGOA will be concluded by the end of the year, African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) programme manager for Africa Moses Simemba said in an interview yesterday.Mr Simemba, who was clarifying reports from the just ended trade fair in Ndola, said the six agricultural products were only recommended by the American officials who were recently in Zambia.A final decision had to be made by the end of they year as there were other technical issues to be sorted...

US President George W Bush yesterday said his country and South Africa were working to expand trade, adding that he believes trade is the key to Africa’s economic future.Speaking at the Union Buildings, in Pretoria, during his official visit to South Africa, Bush said the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) was creating jobs and stimulating investment across the continent.“Right here in South Africa, exports to the US under Agoa have increased by 45% in the last year alone, significant progress.“We're working with five nations of...

The SA Government was hoping for an announcement soon that Ford SA would join the growing ranks of automotive multinationals using SA as an export platform for vehicles, Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin said yesterday.He was briefing journalists on this week's visit to SA by US President George Bush which comes as SA and its Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) partners are in negotiations on a free trade area agreement with the US.Erwin suggested that a free trade area would lock in many of the benefits SA enjoyed under Washington's...

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Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Lindiwe Hendricks believes there is still significant scope for South African and other African companies to more fully exploit the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa), particularly now that President George W Bush has extended the duration of the legislation.Hendricks was speaking on her return from a trip to the US where she had attended the Corporate Council on Africa’s Fourth US-Africa business summit held in Washington, DC, from June 24 to 27.She was accompanied by a...

SA's Government says it plans to build on efforts made at a US-Africa business summit in Washington last week to attract US investors to the domestic textile and clothing sector.Contrary to government's expectations, US companies had not invested in SA or its customs union partners as a result of the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa), said Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Lindiwe Hendricks at a media briefing on the summit yesterday.The initiative had attracted investments from numerous other countries, including Germany, Malaysia...

The Ethio-American Trade and Investment Council (EATIC) with the support of the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the Embassy of Ethiopia in Washington, DC, is organizing manufacturing orientation visit (OV) to the USA for Ethiopian textile, garment and leather manufacturers. The purpose of the visit, which will take place from next August 11 to August 24, would be to introduce Ethiopian textile garment and leather manufacturers to the business practices of the same industries in the United States in order to increase...

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar, made the following statement at a hearing of his committee on the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. It is my pleasure to welcome our witnesses and distinguished guests to our hearing on the African Growth and Opportunity Act. We are privileged to have on our first panel Flori Liser, the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa, and Walter Kansteiner, the Assistant Secretary of State for Africa. Following their testimony, we will hear from a second panel composed of...

Walter H. Kansteiner, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Testimony Before Senate Foreign Relations Committee Washington, DCMr. Chairman, Ranking Member Biden and members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify before the Committee today on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). It is a particular pleasure to testify on AGOA before this Committee because it allows me to again congratulate the Chairman and other members of this Committee who were instrumental in enacting AGOA into law in 2000, and in the...

Under the leadership of former Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa, Rosa Whitaker, the Whitaker Group has mobilized an action committee of businesses, NGOs and faith-based groups to draft, promote and see enacted and implemented critically needed enhancements to the African Growth and Opportunity Act.These enhancements, AGOA III for short, will further strengthen the competitive position of U.S. business and investment in Africa. They will add momentum to the continent's growth and development by spurring continued reform and...

Under the leadership of former Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa, Rosa Whitaker, the Whitaker Group has mobilized an action committee of businesses, NGOs and faith-based groups to draft, promote and see enacted and implemented critically needed enhancements to the African Growth and Opportunity Act.These enhancements, AGOA III for short, will further strengthen the competitive position of U.S. business and investment in Africa. They will add momentum to the continent's growth and development by spurring continued reform and...

To ensure that export procedure contained in African Growth and Opportunity Acts are simplified for manufacturers, the Federal Ministry of Commerce has commissioned a United States-based export consultant - Manchester Trade Limited, to develop strategic export plan.Vanguard gathered that the approval which was given before the dissolution of the federal executive council empowered the consultant working in collaboration with the implementation and advisory committee on AGOA to develop an elaborate export plan.To evolve the strategic export...

On the surface, the news is grim. Global foreign direct investment is stagnant in some areas and dropping in others. Sub-Saharan Africa, which saw a dramatic drop in FDI inflows for 2002, is no exception. But peeling back the veneer, the picture begins to look a little different.For starters, the projected two-thirds drop in FDI for sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, from $17 billion in 2001 to $7 billion in 2002, is pretty much explained by several large, one-off transactions in 2001, the global economic and investment slowdown, and...

White House National Security Council (NSC) director for Africa Jendayi Frazer this week helped launch an effort to expand the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), the landmark US trade legislation that supporters say can provide the market access to counter Africa's economic marginalisation.Frazer told 500 officials, businesspersons and journalists, gathered at the Mayflower Hotel to inaugurate 'The Agoa III Action Committee,' while celebrating the third anniversary of the Act, that "Agoa has become the centrepiece of our economic...

After the December, 2004 textile producer will not be able to source textiles for garment production for Agoa exports to America from within the country and the Sub-Saharan region.This factor is worrying garment and textile players, Garment and Textiles Association of Malawi (GTAM) national consultant Julian Mhone said with the future of David Whitehead and Sons (DWS) in limbo, it will be difficult for the industry to source yarn and fabrics within the country.Agoa conditions stipulate that least developed countries (LDCs) like Malawi and...

SA's exports to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) jumped 45% last year, according to a new US administration report on the preferential trade access programme.This shows that SA exporters are beginning to take real advantage of the Agoa programme, which offers tariff-free and quota-free access for thousands of products from SA and dozens of other African countries into the US market."SA increased its total Agoa exports from $923m in 2001 to 1,3bn in 2002, a 45% increase," according to the report, which was compiled...

The United States has selected Uganda, among other African countries, to benefit from a $475m facility that will be used to support projects that are participating in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) export arrangement.Rosa Whitaker, a former senior trade official in the US government in charge of AGOA, said last week $125m will come from a special Citibank fund and $350m from the Millenium Challenge Fund Account."The funds are meant to support projects that produce products that enter duty-free and quota free to the US market...

One of US' largest garment dealers under AGOA initiative, John Sporidis, is to invest over $40m ( about sh80b)in the spinning, weaving and spinning knitting sectors of the local textile industry. This is intended to revamp and expand the industry to meet the demands of American buyers reports Raymond Mikah.Sporidis together with Rosa Whitaker, former US official in charge of AGOA who have been touring Uganda's textile industries, said last week work to install machinery will start in three months time.He said weaving and knitting will...

Once every two years, the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) convenes the premier gathering in the United States of business and government leaders who are united by their shared commitment to promoting trade and investment between the U.S. and Africa. The fourth U.S.-Africa Business Summit will be held this year from June 24-27 at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C. The summit’s theme is “Building Partnerships.” The goal of the Summit is to facilitate export/import trading, identify agents, representatives and distributors,...

Employment rate in the textile and clothing industry has risen by 36 percent from 29,000 to 45,000. The Lesotho Fancy Garments Group's new factory at the new Mohale's Hoek Industrial Estate will generate 18,000 new jobs when completed.While Foreign direct investment flow into the African continent is declining, Lesotho has emerged as one of the top four in sub-regional group of countries that have experienced heightened levels of inward investment flows.Investors are reported to be coming into Lesotho not only from the traditional target...

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni is to be honoured by US president George Bush in June as Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) marks its third year since it was signed into law by former US president Bill Clinton.AGOA was enacted to allow products from select African countries to enter duty free and quota- free to the US market as a strategy to boost development in Africa.Museveni will be honoured at the White House for the being the first African President to endorse AGOA and for his relentless campaign for the developed countries to open up and...

The eightyear-old Levi Strauss factory in Epping, Cape Town, which started to make Levi 501 jeans for European markets last year, is beginning to produce jeans for export to the US, GM Mike Joubert said yesterday.Joubert said during the international clothing group's 150th birthday that Levi's exports to the US would benefit from the provisions of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).Agoa permits duty-free access to the US market for a specified range of goods made in sub-Saharan African countries.In addition to making jeans for the...

THE American government is hopeful that the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) will be extended when it expires in 2008.Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner III said this in Gaborone, Botswana recently in answering questions to journalists during the official dedication of the Southern Africa Global Competitiveness Hub.Mr Kansteiner, who described AGOA as the first step in a long process, said "AGOA kind of lays the beginning foundation if you will."It's a very important foundation and there are real benefits...

EthioIndex to webcast a LIVE Internet audio call-in dialog in Amharic titled "The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) & Ethiopia: Current issues and awareness"May 11, 2003 (EthioIndex.com) EthioIndex is proud to announce an upcoming webcast titled "African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) & Ethiopia: current issues and awareness" to be held Sunday May 18, 2003 at 3 PM Easter Time (New York). The webcast will be transmitted live at http://www.ethioindex.com. In the two years since the passage of the act, only one Ethiopian company is...

INDUSTRIALISTS under the aegis of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) who are involved in the importation of industrial equipment under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) scheme are now to pay 2.5 per cent Customs duty on such goods.According to document from NACCIMA made available to Vanguard, the approval was conveyed to the association by the Director (Fiscal) in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr. B. M. Dankano in a letter to the association and copied to the Director...

Latest economic figures show that Lesotho's inflation dropped by just over one per cent between February and march this year, an indication that the country would realize poverty alleviation in a long way."It is also hoped that with the fall in inflation both in South Africa and Lesotho, the interest rates will decline, and economic growth be stimulated. The fall in inflation will also go a long way towards poverty alleviation," said a statement from the Central Bank of Lesotho on Monday.The Central Bank statement said latest figures from...

Assistant US Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter H Kansteiner III will join Botswana's Minister of Trade and Industry, Jacob Nkate, as well as business leaders from countries throughout southern Africa, on May 8, to officially dedicate the Southern Africa Global Competitiveness Hub.US Ambassador to Botswana Joseph Huggins will host the event at the Hub facilities in Gaborone.The US Agency for International Development's (USAID) Regional Center for Southern Africa (RCSA) established the trade hub in 2002 as part of the US...

Mozambican companies exported 500,000 dollars worth of clothing to the United States in 2002, using the duty-free provisions of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), reports Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".Despite this, the Mozambican clothing industry remains in deep crisis. In the closing years of the colonial period, there were over 50 clothing factories in Maputo. Now there are just three (Sabrina, Ninita and Umar Textiles), employing about 1,000 people, mostly women. A fourth company, Belita, operates in Beira.All...

Lesotho’s textile industry is one of the most lucrative business sectors in that African country, according to Andrew Gibbs, research intern at the University of Natal’s Centre for Civil Society. Since gaining independence in 1966, Lesotho has used foreign investment as a springboard for development. It set up the Lesotho National Development Corporation in 1967 to attract investment from abroad, but it was not until the 1980s when economic sanctions started to hit South Africa that investment in Lesotho really started to grow. “With...

Vice-President Michael Wamalwa has challenged flower producers to exploit the opportunity presented by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). The VP revealed that plans were underway to introduce direct flights to Miami, USA as part of the Government's effort to utilise the opportunities in the North American market. Wamalwa was speaking at Oserian Development Company in Naivasha, during the launch of a geothermal green house heating project. The function also marked 21 years since Oserian begun growing flowers in Naivasha. The...

TRADE and Industry Minister Alec Erwin is off to the US next month in an effort to woo new investment into SA.The trip is designed to persuade US businessmen that there are enormous opportunities in exportoriented projects in SA; to cash in on the trade concessions offered by the US under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa); as well as to highlight SA's various competitive advantages.Trade opportunities are likely to expand under the planned free trade area (FTA) agreement which is due to be negotiated between Washington and the...