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  On October 12th the New York Times brought the discussion of second hand clothing in East Africa to the mainstream. Unbeknownst to most in North America, the United States trades millions of dollars worth of used clothing to East African countries essentially tax free. African countries export duty free products to the United States in return. The bilateral trade agreement that makes this transaction possible, the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), is the center of a controversy roiling African-US trade...

Since the year 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has given eligible African countries duty and quota free access to the United States’ markets. This has created an opportunity for African businesses, big or small to meet, trade with new markets and improve the quality of their products. Over the years, it has been described as a catalyst for democracy and a criterion for African countries that want to partake in the AGOA agreement. The 16th edition of AGOA Forum sought to explore how countries can continue to...

See the 2017 AGOA Forum Reports (prepared by the AGOA Togo Organising Committee) in the AGOA Forum Downloads Section.    Forum 2017 Brochure and Photos   AGOA Forum 2017: General Report on the AGOA Forum in Togo (english)   AGOA Forum 2017: General Report on the AGOA Forum in Togo (french)  

The Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry has targeted to increase exports to the United States from the current 14 percent to over 24 percent in eight years. Officials expect members to take full advantage of the Agric Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) initiative to achieve the objective. Beneficiary countries are entitled to export over 6,400 products quota and duty-free to the United States. The Africa-US bilateral arrangement encourages export-led growth to enhance trade and economic potential of sub-Saharan African countries. Chief...

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer today announced a new effort to ensure beneficiary countries are meeting the eligibility criteria of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade preference program.  This new effort includes a heightened focus on concluding outstanding GSP cases and a new interagency process to assess beneficiary country eligibility. This interagency process complements the current petition receipt and public input process for country practice reviews, which will remain unchanged.  The new...

Textile industry players in the region have been challenged to start making garments that require low level technology and skills as the East African Community (EAC) countries prepare to phase-out imported used clothes. Lilian Awinja, the Executive Director of the East African Business Council (EABC), said the sector can manufacture apparels such as inner garments, ties, scarfs that require low level technology and skills. “It is a high time that EAC countries embarked on manufacturing apparels such as inner garments, ties, scarfs that...

The USAID East African Trade and Investment Hub supported East African coffee producers to connect with U.S. retailers at this month's Coffee Fest in Portland, Oregon. The October 13 - 15 event brought together a broad spectrum of the U.S. coffee industry, including roasters, retailers and coffee producers.  The event helped the exhibiting companies to generate 20 solid linkages that, if realized, represent $100,000 in East African coffee exports. The Hub-supported East African Pavilion held daily cupping sessions to wow visitors...

Worried that Nigeria is lagging behind in enjoying the benefits of market access created through several trade deals, stakeholders have tasked the Federal Government on implementing an export strategy that is truly committed to diversifying the economy from dependence on oil. A former Director-General of the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr. John Isemede said only detailed and planned export strategy will help the country address its challenges. Speaking at a public presentation of...

In Rwanda, it's chagua. In Kenya, mitumba. In Zambia, salaula — most African languages have a word for the piles of discarded garments that end up for sale across the African continent. Millions of people around the world donate clothes annually with the understanding that they will go to the needy or will be resold in secondhand stores. However, while charities do financially benefit from some of the donated garments, many more enter a secondary marketplace governed by free market principles. A thriving and...

The commercial enterprise of U.S. companies selling used clothing to African countries doesn’t seem a likely source of controversy, but the issue has become one of contention on two continents. The East African countries of Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Burundi have been trying to phase out imports of secondhand clothing and shoes over the last year.  The countries claim the enterprise undermines their efforts to build domestic textile industries and they want to impose an outright ban by 2019. In March, the...

Hidden in the industrial godowns of Ruiru town, some 26 kilometres north of Nairobi, is a coffee story of hope — faith and endurance. Peter Muchiri, who turned 40 last August, is driving the story forward by engaging in what coffee cartels and foreign multinationals do not want Kenyans to do: add value to their green coffee and find markets abroad. “I will do it because the government appears clueless on coffee farming and markets,” he tells me as I gaze at his new Sh250 million ($2.5 million) venture with a Turkish-made Garanti...

Ghanaian exporters have been asked to make aggressive push towards exploiting international market opportunities to grow and expand their businesses. Mr. Mark Badu-Aboagye, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), indicated that this was vital to bring in more foreign exchange and reduce pressure on the local currency – the cedi. He made the call at a sensitization workshop held in Kumasi on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) - a non-reciprocal trade initiative of the United...