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The advisory board set up in 2002 to deal with bottlenecks in the container supply chain has notched up some major successes, co-chairperson Captain Dave Rennie said on Tuesday. When the board, drawn from government departments, parastatals and the private sector, was formed, the Durban terminal had been operating at an average 12 moves an hour, a figure which was now closer to 20. This would "ramp up" even more with the installation of planned new cranes, he told a media briefing in Cape Town. He warned however that government had to...

Mauritian Prime Minister Paul Berenger is to discuss Zimbabwe and the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) with US President George Bush in Washington on Wednesday, a senior official told IRIN."As Mauritius assumes the chairmanship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in August, Zimbabwe is one of the likely issues to be raised. The issue has been blocked for some time, with SADC countries holding a position contrary to the one held by the Commonwealth and the developed countries on Zimbabwe," Kewe Chung, an advisor to...

African economies could face serious repercussions if passage of a proposed enhancement of the African Growth and Opportunity Act known as AGOA III is delayed beyond September, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa Florizelle Liser told the House Africa Subcommittee May 11. Chairman Ed Royce (Republican of California) asked what would happen if the provision in the last AGOA bill that allows least-developed countries duty-free export into the U.S. market of apparel made with fabrics from another country were allowed to expire.Liser...

One year after Tanzania launched its export processing zones (EPZs), only three licensed operators have effectively started producing goods for export to the US under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).According to the National Development Corporation (NDC), a government agency responsible for the development of EPZs, the first factory to come on line at the EPZs was Nida Textile Mills, located in Tabata Industrial Area along the Nelson Mandela Highway.The other two are Star Apparels (T) Ltd and Reclaimed Appliances Ltd, both...

Congressmen who have contended fiercely over economic and foreign policy issues this election year took turns praising a trade bill they say will help Africans grow their export sectors and lead to increased standards of living on the continent. An uncommon degree of bipartisanship as well as urgency dominated the House Ways and Means Committee as it held a "markup" or amendment hearing May 5 on H.R. 4103, The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Acceleration Act.The committee members voted unanimously to forward the bill to the full...

There will be no reprieve for a decades-old international textile quota system that is due to wind up at the end of this year, despite pressure by US and other textile industries for an extension, a senior World Trade Organisation official said yesterday. "It's a deal that's already been done. It can't be undone," said Cheidu Osakwe, director of the WTO's textile division, in a speech to trade policy specialists in Washington. As the deadline approaches, textile industries in both rich and poor countries have become increasingly fearful...

The African continent is at a crossroads - with one path leading to economic prosperity and growth and the other leading to greater despair, hunger, conflict, disease and environmental degradation - said Representative Ed Royce (Republican of California) April 29 as he testified in support of "AGOA 3," an extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The path to prosperity, Royce said, is the path of AGOA, the U.S.-Africa trade law that "has managed to draw hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign investment to the continent,...

As the Chairman of the Africa Subcommittee, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA-40) testified at today's Ways & Means Committee Trade Subcommittee hearing focusing on the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Following is his statement:.....Thank you Chairman Crane for inviting me to testify before your Subcommittee on H.R. 4103, the 'AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004.' [ Note: HR 4103 is available for download in AGOA.info's 'Legal Documents' Download Archive - see link above ] As one of its original co-sponsors, I've enjoyed working with your...

The Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) is holding a conference on 14-15 May 2004 in Maseru to address the problems currently facing the textile industry. Government officials and industrialists are expected to come from Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana and Kenya for the conference which coincides with an international trade fair. The conference will focus on four themes: productivity, human resource management and industrial relations, compliance with customer codes of conduct and HIV/AIDS in the textile industry. While...

Remarks by Prime Minister A.T. Dlamini of Swaziland at a 'Call to Action' breakfast and press conference organized by the Agoa 3 Action Committee, a coalition supporting extension and expansion of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) , at the Rayburn House Office Building, United States Congress. ...It gives me great pleasure to address such an august gathering that is meeting here today for a just course. In Africa, there are millions of our people who are living in poverty and their plight depends on the AGOA III passage.Ladies...

Apparel Tri-star (U) Ltd, a company exporting garments to the United States under AGOA, has recruited another 800 girls to work in its second factory."We have recruited another 800 girls for our second factory which is opening in May. Because we had limited capacity, we couldn't meet all the demand. Now, with additional labour force, we should be able to satisfy the demand in the US market, the company's chief executive officer, Villupilai Kananathan, said on Saturday.He said 470 of the 800 girls had already undergone a two-month training...

The introduction of revised labour legislation in Swaziland is expected to improve workers' rights and boost investor confidence in the tiny mountain kingdom.The Senate passed the amended Industrial Relations Act (IRA) this week, despite the royal government's ongoing suspicion that workers' unions are bent on undermining sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarchy.The previous IRA was a revision of 2000 legislation that had been amended by the royal council, causing a temporary suspension of trade privileges with the United States.The 2000...

Businessmen from West and Central Africa yesterday met in Yaounde to brainstorm on ways and means of stepping up action towards the implementation of the American law on trade between Africa and the United States. Organised by the AGOA. Training Center Africa (ATCA), the workshop is a veritable instrument of networking in order to better make use of the opportunities offered by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) voted into law by the American Congress in 2000. Participants worked on an empirical theme, "AGOA in West Africa:...

After experimenting on Shea Nut Butter for over four years in northern Uganda, Lira-based oil company, Guru Nanak Oil Mills is set to explore the world market. According to Guru's executive director, Surjit Singh, the firm is targeting the American markets, whose doors have been opened by the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA). "There is a big market for Shea Nut Butter in the U.S.A because many natural cosmetics manufacturers prefer African Shea oil. Therefore, this project should be supported for the country to get foreign exchange,...

Mozambique, having emerged from years of instability as a result of a protracted civil war in the 1980s and early 1990s, has started making significant progress in recent years. This coincided with a gradual liberalisation of the economy, which is now attracting renewed interest from foreign investors. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have been recorded in a number of sectors, including the financial sector, tourism, construction and manufacturing sectors. However, the country has thus far largely failed to penetrate the largest...

A few influential Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress are jointly urging that a provision in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) trade law, crucial to Kenya, be extended for three years beyond its scheduled expiration in September.Under a new proposal known as the Agoa Acceleration Bill, Kenya and other eligible African countries could continue using Asian-made fabrics in their clothing exports to the US until 2007.Kenya's representatives in Washington are lobbying hard for this extension because the country still produces...

The World Bank called yesterday for an extension of the clothing preferences in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). In their discussion paper on the effects of preferential access to the US market under Agoa, World Bank economists Paul Brenton and Takako Ikezuki appealed for the benefits of Agoa to be extended or made permanent.For many sectors, it is likely the current temporary and relatively short statutory period of Agoa constrains a significant investment response.SA and Mauritius were cited as examples of Agoa beneficiaries...

The strength of the rand has wiped out some of the benefits of the European Union (EU) free-trade agreement, a South African textile federation has said.The strong rand has turned the local textile and clothing industry on its head, with exports to the US market also down sharply.There have also been massive job losses due to declining exports and an influx of cheap imports .The Textile Federation (Texfed), an umbrella body of South African textile associations , said 25000 jobs were lost in the industry last year.While explaining the slump...

Export Processing Zones have developed into one of the few success stories in local manufacturing, and nowhere is this more visible than in the manufacture of apparel for export to the American market.About 40 factories - riding on the back of the tariff-free market access accorded by a special US trade law - have spawned a $164-million industry and created over 30,000 jobs.But beyond the gloss of impressive figures, there is another not-so-rosy side to the Agoa story in Kenya. It is one of poor quality jobs, the dominance by foreign...

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) benefits should be extended over a much longer period, if not made permanent, and the special liberal rules of origin for clothing products be extended considerably beyond 2004, World Bank economists Paul Brenton and Takako Ikezuki recommend in a recent working paper. According to them, the ability to export clothing products under preferences with liberal rules of origin is the key factor currently determining whether Agoa has a significant impact on non-oil exporting African countries. At...

Inspite of the assurances by government officials to the contrary, there are strong indications that Nigeria is still far from qualifying for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) about four years after the programme started to assist exports from Africa.AGOA was signed into law on May 18, 2000 by then US president Bill Clinton as Title 1 of The Trade and Development Act of 2000 to offer tangible incentives to African countries to continue their efforts at opening up their economies and build free markets.Dependable sources close to...

With strong leadership from Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and President Bill Clinton, Congress took a big step toward unlocking Africa's economic potential four years ago, with the enactment of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). At the time, Congressman Rangel predicted that it would "represent substantial trade benefits for Africa ... investment in Africa, less poverty, higher disposable incomes, and the ability to become a full partner in the global economy." By 2004, AGOA had fulfilled much of its...

On April 1, 2004 a broad bipartisan coalition held a press conference in the Capitol to unveil new AGOA III legislation, titled the AGOA Acceleration Act.The legislation is championed by Representatives Bill Thomas, (R-CA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Phil Crane (R-IL), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Ed Royce (R-CA), William Jefferson (D-LA), Amo Houghton (R-NY), Donald Payne (D-NJ) and Richard Neal (D-MA).The AGOA Acceleration Act, HR 4103, is closely modeled after the AGOA III Act but specifically designed to smoothly pass the Congress in quick...

"The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act Acceleration Act 2004, H.R. 4103, represents a major milestone in efforts to fight poverty and instability in Africa and help grow the region's reforming economies as markets for US goods," Rosa Whitaker, co-chair of the AGOA 3 action committee, said.Fellow co-chair Jack Kemp, founder of Empower America, was equally upbeat. "Fighting poverty and expanding markets for Africa helps create new opportunities for Americans - it's a win-win for all."The bipartisan initiative's key architects are Rep. Bill...

Despite strong bipartisan support for the extension of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), there is growing angst among many African apparel producers about whether the legislation will be approved before October. The date is key, as the vital ‘third country’ textile provision is set to expire on September 30, 2004.The provision allows least-developed country-beneficiaries under Agoa, as well as Botswana and Namibia, to source textiles from non-African and non-US sources. This enables them to deal with the reality of...

Sierra Leone's Information and Broadcasting Minister, Prof. Septimus Kaikai, has called on Sierra Leoneans to use the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to market locally made textiles and garments in the United States."The use of AGOA can help to fight poverty, create job opportunities, elevate wages for Sierra Leoneans and improve the country's economy." The minister made these disclosure at a special press conferences on 'Sierra Leone's Acquisition of the AGOA Textile and Garments Visa' held on Monday 5th April 2004.The Minister of...

The Government is involved in initiatives to seek an extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), Trade and Industry Minister Dr Mukhisa Kituyi has disclosed.Kituyi was responding a request for a ministerial statement by Kaiti MP Gideon Ndambuki (Kanu). The member has asked what the Government was doing to beat the September 31 deadline.Ndambuki said Kenya was threatened with the risk of being struck off from Agoa if it failed to meet the September 31 deadline.The legislator also sought to have the House informed on what the...

Following the first full year of the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) programme in 2001, Sub- Saharan African producers exported additional goods worth $8b to the United States.This was said by Theodore Nkodo, the vice-president of the African Development Bank's operations in the north, east and south.Nkodo said the growth represented a 62% increase over the previous year.He said this at a recently concluded Africa conference on food security at Munyonyo.Nkodo said as a result of AGOA, USA now trades more with Africa than former Eastern...

South Africa's citrus fruit exports have boomed under the preferential access that many products have been granted under America's African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). SA has become the largest foreign supplier of fresh oranges to the US markets, which recorded imports of the fruit valued at almost $50m last year. There are still those who may doubt the extent of benefits presented by Agoa, which eliminated import tariffs on about 7000 goods from SA and other African countries. In a recent South African Institute of International...

Ugandan organic exports have taken US markets by storm, Susan Muhwezi, the special presidential assistant on the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) has said.Muhwezi said this in a presentation read for her by the AGOA-Uganda commercial officer, Hashim Wasswa at the International Conference Centre."Reports from those who went for the Natural Foods Expo in Washington recently reveal that they have been bombarded by enquiries about their products. Some are already doing business in the US albeit with some difficulties," she said.Some of the...

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has written to United States President George Bush requesting that countries benefiting from the AGOA continue importing raw materials to make fabrics for the American market.Under the Act, beneficiary countries were allowed to import raw materials called 'third party fabrics' up to this November.Opening an All Africa on Food Security and Nutrition conference at the Speke Resort Munyonyo, Museveni said Uganda needed the provision extended for some years.Museveni was flanked by presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of...

Garment makers in Swaziland were laying off workers because delays in renewing a trade deal with the US were threatening the kingdom's largest industry, labour union officials said this week.Swaziland enjoys trade benefits with the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), but a key provision allowing certain African countries to import cheap fabric to process for sale is due to expire this year.Industry officials in Swaziland said firms were already cutting workforces because there had been no confirmation the US would extend...

Swaziland's flourishing textile industry is experiencing a crisis, caused by delays in US legislation that would extend a deadline in the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), and enable Swazi exports to continue entering the market duty-free."Already, about one thousand garments workers out of 28,000 employed nationally have lost their jobs because of the uncertainty over AGOA. Each worker supports 10 dependants," said Sipho Mamba, Secretary-General of the Swaziland Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union.According to the Ministry of...

Delays in the extension of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) by the US have caused a crisis in the Swazi textile industry. According to Sipho Mamba, Secretary-General of the Swaziland Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union, many jobs are being lost due to the uncertainty over AGOA. “Already about one thousand garments workers out of 28,000 employed nationally have lost their jobs because of the uncertainty over AGOA. Each worker supports 10 dependants," he said. Almost a quarter of Swaziland’s population are either directly...

Agriculture exports from SA to the US rose 35% last year despite the negative effects of the strong rand, contradicting claims that the US's African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) did not benefit South African farmers.Critics have said that duty-free access under Agoa has "done nothing" to boost sales of African farm produce. African farmers, they say, are still struggling against import quotas and agricultural subsidies in the US.Subsidies to US farmers about 180bn over 10 years along with nontariff barriers such as food safety...

Strong bipartisan support for the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) is likely to be transposed on to the planned free-trade agreement (FTA) between the US and the five-country Southern African Customs Union (Sacu), a senior embassy official asserted yesterday.The official was responding to questions on whether rising anti-FTA sentiments in the US, which are being expressed by Democratic Presidential candidate Senator John Kerry in particular, could affect the passage of the trade deal, anticipated for conclusion by December.His views...

Namibia’s clothing sector has been the country’s main beneficiary of preferential access to the US market brought about by AGOA. This is according to data from the United States International Trade Commission (USITC). Since 2000, the year prior to trade benefits materialising under AGOA, Namibia’s total exports to the U.S. have grown three-fold from US$ 42mn to just over US$ 123mn in 2003. Whereas the country exported virtually no clothing (or textiles) to the US initially, exports of knitwear (HS61) now form that country’s single...

Passage of an expanded African Growth and Opportunity Act is extremely timely and should be concluded by Congress before September 30, says Senator Dick Lugar (Republican of Indiana), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Failure to pass the bill, known as AGOA III, could jeopardize economic gains made by Africans under the legislation first passed in May 2000, the senator said.Lugar voiced concern over legislative stalling on his bill, S. 1900, "The United States-Africa Partnership Act of 2003," during a March 25 hearing of the...

According to local newspaper "The Herald", Zimbabwe's chances of participating in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) look promising as the country has met some preconditions required for its qualification into the American trade initiative.Local trade lobby groups and the Ministry of Industry and International Trade have since embarked on seminars with business and the United States embassy in readiness for the possible inclusion.During a seminar held in the city yesterday, US Embassy Economic and Commercial Chief, Mr William...

United States ambassador to Zambia Martin Brennan says Zambia's export earnings under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) would rise significantly once the process of horticultural pest risk assessments is completed.Mr Brennan said the rapid growth of the AGOA exports in the recent past indicated the scale of the opportunities the legislation had created for Zambia.The ambassador was speaking in Lusaka yesterday at the opening of the Zambia handicrafts market sixth seminar organised under the auspices of the Southern Africa Global...

Kenya exported textiles worth more than Sh11.6 billion to the United States last year as a result of the African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa).Trade minister Mukhisa Kituyi said the Act, enacted by the US in 2000, had seen Kenyan textile and apparel exports increase to more than $150 million last year.In a speech read by internal trade director Seth Otieno during the opening of the Indian textile buyer/seller meeting at the Hilton hotel, Dr Kituyi said Agoa will offer certain Kenyan goods duty and quota free access to the US market until...

President Yoweri has announced he ordered the sacking of about 200 girls working at Tri-Star Apparels factory in Bugolobi.Museveni said he feared their strike would send the wrong signals to potential investors."I sacked those girls because of indiscipline and their action would have scared off investors who had plans of setting up businesses here. They would have thought that the labour force in Uganda is undisciplined," he said on Sunday at the inauguration of the district women and youth councils.Tri-Star Apparels exports garments to the...

US Assistant Trade Representative in charge of Africa, FLORIZELLE LISER, was recently in Mombasa to attend trade talks aimed at breaking the deadlock at the WTO since the failed Ministerial Conference in Cancun last year. VITALIS OMONDI spoke to her on the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) Why is the sourcing of raw materials an issue in Agoa if the trade initiative is all about opening the vast US market to producers from sub-Saharan Africa? Agoa is a unilateral one-way deal that allows goods from sub-Saharan Africa entry into the US...

Former US assistant trade representative for Africa, Rosa Whitaker, has denied that her business dealings with Uganda were in breach of US government ethical rules.She also denied discussing her private consulting business with Ugandan officials while she held the US government job.An American newspaper, Los Angeles Times, last Wednesday said "the case of Rosa Whitaker stands out as an example of why Washington officials are increasingly debating what constitutes a conflict of interest in such comings and goings."Whitaker left the US...

The United States government has just released a report which acknowledges that changing import rules to remove product quotas in textiles and apparel will in all likelihood cause African imports to the US to decline. African countries currently benefit from the quota system which provides them with guaranteed access to developed countries' markets for these products. The quota system is set to end on January 1, 2005 when the United States is forced to scrap the quotas for all countries in line with the Uruguay Round's Agreement on Textiles...

A new report by the US government on the impact of changing import rules for the garment industries of Southern African countries under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) suggests that exports to the United States are likely to decline."Industry sources indicated that the region's overall share of US apparel imports will fall, notwithstanding AGOA preferences," said the report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative.Although AGOA provides duty-free access to the US market, a key advantage has been African...

By Rosa Whitaker: Four years ago, Washington witnessed a rare moment of consensus. In the heat of an election year, minds met on the importance of drawing sub-Saharan Africa into the mainstream of the global economy.The result was the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in which we said to African nations: if you create conditions conducive to broad-based growth, we will give you special access to our markets to see that your reforms pay off.Since its enactment in May 2000, AGOA has helped change the lives of millions for the better....

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is "definitely working" to enhance and expand trade between the United States and Africa, but to fully benefit from that historic trade legislation, each AGOA-eligible country must develop its own AGOA Action Plan. Assistant United States Trade Representative for Africa Florizelle Liser made that point March 9 while addressing a forum organized by the Women in International Trade (WIIT) group in Washington. To illustrate her point on AGOA's success, Liser told her audience that 2003 trade...

Business opportunities between Angolan and US businesses, as well as others can rise significantly within two years, should the norms of cooperations be publicised more widely.This was said today in Luanda by the director of the commercial liaison agency for East and West Africa Common Market (Comesa), Moses Simemba, during a seminar on business opportunities between Angolan and US business people. Speaking to Angop, Moses Simemba said as well that one of the hindrances to business between the business classes from both countries is the poor...

Although publicity is given mostly to the industrial goods-categories that qualify for duty-free access to the US market under AGOA, South African-produced oranges have been one of the star performers during 2003. This is according to data recently published by the United States International Trade Commission (USITC). “Fresh oranges” are one of the products not previously eligible under the US’ General System of Preferences (GSP) but which qualify for preferential market access when shipped from an AGOA-beneficiary country. Being...