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The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) has cautiously welcomed the arrival of the first consignment of chicken products from the United States (US). The first shipment of American poultry arrived in Durban last Friday and should be on the shelves in two weeks. The South Africa government late last year concluded negotiations with US authorities on the import of American poultry, beef and pork. Government was under pressure to open its market to certain meat products from the US or face compromising trade...

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said his department will be discussing the packaging of imported chicken from America, to ensure consumers know where their poultry comes from. Davies said South Africa has managed to negotiate a reasonable deal to secure the country’s participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Chicken imported from the United States is set to hit the shelves for the first time in 15 years. Davies said the United States is not the only place that South Africa imports chicken from. For years the...

The uncertainty hanging over SA following its suspension from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) will ease, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Thursday. The minister said he had received an e-mail from the US trade representative, informing him of an intention to lift the suspension. "Based on the actions taken, I will be sending recommendations today to the president to revoke the suspension of Agoa benefits for SA," the letter reads. Mr Davies said it could take up to a couple of weeks to get signed, but the goal...

With the arrival of US frozen chicken portions in South African stores at the weekend, Pretoria satisfied conditions for retaining US trade privileges under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), US Trade Representative Michael Froman said on Wednesday. The announcement puts an end to a long-running dispute that came to a head in November when US President Barack Obama gave SA 90 days to open its market to US chicken, beef and pork or lose duty-free access to the US market for its own agricultural products. The poultry dispute...

South Africa negotiated a reasonable deal with regards to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on the poultry, pork and beef issue, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Thursday. “We negotiated a reasonable deal, one that has some developmental content to it. At the end of the day, we’ve come out with a deal which is reasonable enough. We delivered on it and we managed to secure continued participation of South Africa in AGOA,” said the Minister. This comes as the Department of Trade and Industry announced that...

Total trade between the United States and countries supported under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) showed another decrease in 2015, according to data published by the AGOA.info website. Combined trade, which came to US$ 50b in 2015, only reached US$ 36b last year. Trade between the United States and AGOA countries has now been declining for four years in a row. The reduction of trade between countries supported by AGOA and the United States during 2016 was caused by a lowering of trade from both sides. Whereas exports from...

South Africa and the United States have resolved all outstanding issues relating to agricultural imports from the US. This, according to (South Africa's) Telecommunications and Postal Services Minister Siyabonga Cwele, has paved the way for the continuation of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) benefits for South Africa’s agricultural exports into the US market.  "South Africa is working with the relevant stakeholders to facilitate the first shipment of US poultry imports under the agreed quota," Minister Cwele said at the...

Roughly half of all American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) members source from Africa today, and following last summer’s 10-year renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), that number is likely to increase. However, as discussed during a Sourcing at Magic seminar Wednesday titled “Africa on the Verge,” that duty-free access is temporary and the continent needs to start putting infrastructure in place now so that in 10 years, its textile and garment industry will be competitive regardless of whether AGOA is...

The U.S. port of Houston has announced a new shipping service that it says offers the only regular direct container service from the Gulf of Mexico to West Africa. Italy-based Grimaldi shipping company will visit Houston every 11 days with six ships rotating between Houston’s container terminals and 15 West African ports including in Nigeria, Ghana and Guinea, according to the HoustonChronicle. The first ship, the Grande Guinea, left the Port Authority’s Barbours Cut container terminal in Houston on...

U.S. investments in Ethiopia climbed to $4 billion last year helped by several companies taking advantage of the renewed Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to venture into the East African nation, the country’s ambassador to the US said. Girma Biru said several U.S. companies including Corbetti Geothermal Company, KKR & CO., l.P Horticulture, Blackstone and Coca Cola, have in the last few years invested heavily in Ethiopia, Walta Information Center reported. Black Rhino, company owned by funds from United States investment firm...

Swaziland may regain its African Growth and Opportunity (AGOA) status as it promises to meet all five benchmarks set by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) by June, APA reports on Tuesday. As of now Swaziland met three and the remaining two are the amendment of the Suppression of Terrorism Act and the amendment of the Public Order Act which should allow for the full recognition of the freedom of assembly, speech and organisation. The Minister of Labour and Social Security Winnie Magagula has assured that her ministry is moving...

The US wants to see a diversification of products traded between African countries and the States, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs has said. Answering questions from journalists throughout Africa via an online press conference on February 10, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield said there are currently about 39 African countries signed up with the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA),  a United States Trade Act enacted in 2000 which significantly enhances market access to...

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) exports to America under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) has amounted to US$17 billion. The exports through the COMESA eligible countries amounted to $17.3 billion by November 2015. COMESA secretary general Sindiso Ngwenya said the United States-COMESA Trade and Investments Framework Agreement (TIFA) provides a more in depth copperation which could collaborate for mutally beneficial results. He was speaking during the 8th US-COMESA trade and investment council consultative...

The US government says the recent slump in copper prices serves as a timely reminder for Zambia to diversify its economy. US Ambassador to Zambia Eric Shultz says serious efforts must be taken to shift the economy to agriculture, tourism and power generation. Speaking when he officiated at the eighth US-COMESA consultative trade meeting, Ambassador Shultz also urged member countries to take advantage of the extended AGOA agreement to increase exports to the US. He also encouraged African countries to forge bilateral ties with the US...

Last week, I promised to explore the opportunities presented by the African Growth and Opportunity Act, commonly known by its acronym, Agoa. This law constituted a ground-breaking American policy towards Sub Saharan Africa and came into effect in May, 2000, during President Clinton's administration. Its purpose was to assist the economies of sub-Saharan Africa and improve economic relations between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. Initially, it was envisaged that it would take 15 years. However, in June 2015, it was extended to...

The US intends to expand a new trade initiative it started to include Ghana. Ambassador Michael Froman told a hearing on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), that to build upon AGOA’s successes, the US government and its African partners launched the Trade Africa initiative with the East African Community (EAC) in 2013, signing a multifaceted Cooperation Agreement in 2015 focused on compliance with WTO standards on trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade. “The US is...

Industrialisation or re-industrialisation has been on the lips of politicians in the past few months, especially in the context of giving impetus to the rise of black industrialists and creating long-term jobs. The fray over the US’s African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa) seems isolated, but it forms part of a rather disjointed debate about local industry, exports and the creation of work in decades to come. We’ve often made the mistake of evaluating economic benefits in silos — looking at individual industries or sectors; even...

The US is optimistic that South Africa will retain preferential access for its farming goods to the world’s biggest market after the middle of March, said Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, Assistant US Trade Representative for Agricultural Affairs and Commodity Policy. “I am optimistic that the March 15 deadline will be met,” Lauritsen said at a panel discussion in Johannesburg on Tuesday. “It takes about a month for product to leave Atlanta and get to South African ports.” President Barack Obama said in a proclamation on January 11 the US...

Countries qualifying for duty-free access to US markets under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) must adhere to US trade regulations as well as its foreign policy. This is a new rule enacted by the US Congress last year after the renewal of the US-Africa trade partnership for another 10 years. According to EAC Director General of Customs and Trade Peter Kiguta, under the new rule, a country that goes against any of these requirements is suspended from Agoa for a period to be determined by the US government. "The eligibility...

The US embassy has rejected suggestions that health safety standards in the US are something South Africans need to worry about when they begin to eat pork, chicken and beef imported from that country. The South African Poultry Association has raised concerns about the level of salmonella in US poultry, and what it believes is the lack of adequate monitoring and testing at domestic ports of entry to halt the entry of infected meat. This testing will be undertaken in terms of an agreement reached between US and South African veterinarians...

President Obama, on January 11, suspended the application of duty-free treatment to South Africa’s agricultural exports that come into the U.S under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The suspension will take effect on March 15 if South Africa does not lower tariffs on American poultry products before then. The development represents another twist in a saga that gained momentum nearly two years ago when U.S. poultry and meat producers called on Congress to not renew AGOA as long as South Africa continued to keep their products...

“I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am to hear the words 'Beyond Agoa'. I think I am going to get that printed on a T-shirt,” says US ambassador Patrick Gaspard when asked what the priorities for US-South African relations should be, beyond Agoa. Agoa - the African Growth and Opportunity Act - has been dominating US-South Africa relations for the last while, and for all the wrong reasons. The law grants duty-free access to the US markets for most South African exports. But since November the US has provisionally suspended the Agoa...

Incoming Unites States of America Ambassador to Swaziland Lisa Peterson carries hope for the country’s re-admission to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) – a duty-free trade agreement that enhances market access to the US for qualifying Sub-Saharan African countries. Swaziland lost its AGOA status on January 1, 2015 after US President Barack Obama withdrew the kingdom’s eligibility because of failure to fully meet five benchmarks. These benchmarks, some of which are still outstanding, include full passage of the amendment...

The figures indicate that local textile exports to the U.S have again turned south, after a recovery in 2014, when they jumped 61 percent to $9.5 million (P110 million) at current rates. Sam Lin, director at Carapparel Botswana – the country’s last remaining AGOA textile export – told BusinessWeek that many factors, including tight competition from China, conspired to depress sales last year. “The market was lower than average and demand was reduced,” he said. “We also struggled with power cuts, labour challenges and stiff...

The Swaziland poultry industry will soon face a challenge to compete with United States (US) unfairly low chicken prices after South Africa allowed American poultry in their market. Minister of Agriculture Moses Vilakati said this would be a huge challenge to Swazi producers, adding that it was beyond any doubt that US chickens would soon hit the shelves of local retailers, especially through the Republic chain supermarkets like Pick n Pay and Shoprite.  After being caught in a wishy-washy net for over 15 years to resolve the trade...