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EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE PUBLIC COUNTRY PRACTICE HEARING U.S. GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES (GSP) Held at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative 1724 F Street, N.W. Washington D.C., Rooms 1 and 2 January 31, 2020 Program and Witness List - Final Welcome and Introduction 10:00 am Ms. Laura Buffo, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for GSP and Chair of the GSP Subcommittee   South Africa – Intellectual Property Rights   10:05 am Panel 1: Government...

South Africa’s government will tell President Donald Trump’s administration that its review of a preferential trade agreement that could put as much as $2.4 billion in exports at risk is premature and potentially damaging for both economies. The U.S. Trade Representative will start public hearings on Thursday [see submissions and hearing schedule here] to review the nation’s duty-free access to the U.S. market under the so-called Generalized System of Preferences, its oldest and largest trade-preference program for the...

The U.S. and Kenya are expected to announce negotiations on a free-trade agreement next week, America’s first such deal with a sub-Saharan country, a person familiar with the plans said. The Trump administration wants the accord to be a model for future pacts with other nations in the region, one of the people said, declining to be identified because the talks are private. An announcement on the discussion will coincide with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to Washington next week. Macharia Kamau, Kenya’s principal secretary...

Cameroon will lose its preferred trade status under the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on January 1, following a US decision to revoke its status because of its human rights record. The October decision was confirmed through a presidential proclamation last week. Three other African nations also will see AGOA status changes, the White House said.AGOA affect market access, investment and reduced or eliminated tariffs on US imports.“Despite intensive engagement between the United States and the Government of Cameroon,...

US retailers and clothing brands are asking Congress to demolish the bipartisan foundation of our groundbreaking economic partnership with Africa, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a uniquely bipartisan effort to help unlock the continent's vast potential. The lobbying is also an effort to undermine the opportunities provided to Haiti, this hemisphere's poorest country, under the Haiti HOPE/Help legislation. If they are successful, they will jeopardize the livelihoods of countless thousands of Africans and Haitians,...

The Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) has ended its Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade Expo with a high-powered business to business meeting which saw over 50 African American businesses strike business deals with Ghanaian businesses partaking of the event.  President of the Chamber, Dr Nana Appiagyei Dankawoso 1 was confident “the engagement will expand business opportunities in Ghana in 2020”. “This B2B session has been a high-powered one. With the calibre of American businesses come on board we are...

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is announcing a hearing for the GSP country practice reviews of Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, South Africa, and Uzbekistan, and the country designation review of Laos. These reviews will focus on whether: (1) Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan are meeting the GSP eligibility criterion requiring that a GSP beneficiary country afford workers in that country internationally recognized worker rights; (2) Ecuador is meeting the GSP...

The US has designated West African country Mali as a lesser-developed beneficiary country under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The decision was included in a presidential proclamation outlining a number of changes to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) following regular eligibility reviews, product reviews, and beneficiary developing country assessments. As a result, 30 days after the proclamation is published in the Federal Register, Mali will become eligible for AGOA's third-country fabric provision, which...