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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...

...I refer to African National Congress spokesman Zizi Kodwa’s response, as reported by the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, and tweeted by Sidwell Medupe, spokesman for the Department of Trade and Industry, to Obama’s Monday night proclamation regarding SA’s continued enjoyment of US trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). The precise words Xinhua attributes to Kodwa are these: "We cannot allow to be bullied, that’s why many countries are looking at South-South relations and looking East because...

The Department of Trade and Industry has sought to relieve concerns that SA could lose out on thousands of jobs and billions in exports. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the department reacted to President Barack Obama’s hardline stance that SA must abide by the conditions in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) by March 15, or lose out on its benefits. Obama was insisting that SA must get US products, notably poultry, onto SA’s shelves by the middle of next month. His Monday announcement followed last week’s last minute...

South Africa has been given a March 15 deadline to allow U.S. poultry into the country or lose duty-free access for its farming exports under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), according to a proclamation issued Monday by U.S. President Barack Obama. Last week, South Africa's Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, announced the two countries had completed negotiations on various meat imports, but U.S. Ambassador Michael Froman warned there were more hurdles for Pretoria. Froman said the United States needed to ensure South...

PRESS STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S 11TH JANUARY 2016 PROCLAMATION South Africa wishes to clarify that all its AGOA benefits remain in place and the new proclamation issued by President Obama announcing the suspension of agriculture benefits on the 15th of March will be lifted as soon as the first shipment of poultry enters the South African market. At the press conference held in Pretoria on the 7th of January, Ministers Rob Davies, Senzeni Zokwana and Aaron Motsoaledi announced the conclusion of the negotiations on all the...

The US government has adopted a "prudent, risk-averse" approach in extending rather than completely lifting the threatened suspension of SA’s agricultural products under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), the Department of Trade and Industry’s director-general Lionel October says. In terms of a proclamation issued by US President Barack Obama on Monday, SA has until March 15 to show it is implementing the agreements reached last week or it will face the loss of duty-free access for its agricultural products under Agoa. Mr...

1.    In Proclamation 7350 of October 2, 2000, the President designated the Republic of South Africa (South Africa) as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country for purposes of section 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (the "1974 Act") (19 U.S.C. 2466a(a)(1)), as added by section 111(a) of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (title I of Public Law 106-200) (AGOA). 2.   Sections 506A(d)(4)(C) (19 U.S.C. 2466a(d)(4)(C)) and 506A(c)(1) (19 U.S.C. 2466a(c)(1)) of the 1974 Act authorize the President to...

South Africa has until March 15 to fully comply with the US over its poultry and other meat imports, after US President Barack Obama on Monday ordered the suspension of duty-free treatment to all Agoa-eligible goods in the agricultural sector from South Africa, effective on that date. The suspension will be revoked should South Africa comply with the requirements to ensure the imports are on SA shelves, source said. It is in effect another 60 day deadline for South Africa, after it concluded negotiations over health issues last week. That...

US Senators Johnny Isakson and Chris Coons, co-chairs of the Senate Chicken Caucus, have applauded an announcement by the Obama administration and the US poultry industry on Thursday that South Africa has finally agreed to eliminate long-standing barriers to US poultry imports. The move, which was largely praised by industry roleplayers in SA, allows for US poultry to be imported into South Africa for the first time in 15 years and  follows an announcement by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies earlier on Thursday that SA has...

The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters of SA (AMIE) is thrilled about the news that SA has reached an agreement with the US which paving the way for the country to remain part of the Agoa trade programme. Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies announced on Thursday that negotiations between SA and the US over health issues related to meat imports were concluded on Wednesday, which should ensure the country remains a part of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Agoa enabled duty free, trade access preferences for...

Negotiations between South Africa and the United States over health issues related to meat imports were concluded on Wednesday, which should ensure the country remains a part of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). This comes after South Africa missed an important deadline set by US President Barack Obama to conclude the negotiations by December 31 2015. There were fears that he would suspend South Africa from the crucial trade agreement on January 4. "We are calling on the US to do the right thing and retain our involvement...

South Africa should not lower its standards below international norms to accommodate US poultry imports, the SA Poultry Association (Sapa) said on Wednesday. “Lowering our standards to below international norms, having different standards for the US compared to all other importers and local producers as well as putting our human and animal health at risk in the process, is simply a price not worth paying,” Sapa CEO Kevin Lovell said in a statement. On Monday, Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies informed reporters of the possible...

South African fruit, wine and nut farmers are bracing for hardship as the US looks set to rescind their duty-free access to the world’s largest market at a time when they’re already facing the worst drought in more than two decades and rising input costs. South Africa missed a December 31 deadline to remove barriers on beef and chicken imports from the US, placing it at risk of losing trade preferences for its agricultural goods under the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act, or Agoa. South Africa exported $154m (R2.4bn) worth of farm...

If South Africa loses its beneficial status in terms of the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa), there will be some winners and some losers in the local agriculture and agribusiness industry, according to John Purchase, CEO of Agbiz. Conflicting interests between different value chains in the broader agro-food system makes it important for the outcome of SA's current Agoa negotiations to result in a good balance, he told Fin24 on Wednesday. Agoa has enabled duty free, trade access preferences for SA's agricultural products. SA did,...

Just as the dispute over chicken imports from the US was not really about chickens, so is SA’s likely suspension from the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) not entirely about trade. Rather it is a case of the US saying to SA that it cannot have it both ways. Pretoria cannot line up with the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China) bloc on foreign policy issues and bad-mouth Washington — while still demanding privileged access to US markets. It cannot take measures that frustrate trade and investment flows from the...

The SA Poultry Association (Sapa) has come out in support of Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies‚ saying that “brinkmanship” alleged to have soured trade relations between the US and South Africa were due to the US and not South Africa. The association released a statement on Wednesday saying that one of the key issues holding up an agreement between the two countries over the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa)‚ a US trade act which aims to enhance market access to the US for qualifying sub-Saharan African countries‚...

South Africa’s trade and industry, health and agriculture ministers met United States ambassador Patrick Gaspard in an “extra time” effort to try to resolve a persistent trade dispute and so avoid South Africa losing lucrative duty-free entry into the US market for South African agricultural exports. But it seemed unlikely that the meeting would have been in time to prevent US President Barack Obama announcing that the US would immediately suspend South Africa’s benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Obama...

The US has stalled its decision on whether to suspend SA from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), a US magazine reported on Tuesday. On Monday Department of Trade and Industry (dti) Minister Rob Davies informed reporters of the possible suspension of SA from the Agoa and said that the move would hugely affect the agricultural sector. Agoa, renewed by US lawmakers in June, eliminates import levies on more than 7 000 products ranging from textiles to manufactured items and benefits 39 sub-Saharan African nations. Total two-way...

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies is hoping the US gives negotiators more time to conclude agreements to continue African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) trade benefits.  While South Africa has missed the deadline to wrap up all outstanding matters, the minister said most of the issues have been resolved.  The American government announced last year that it would impose tariffs on South African exports that benefit from the Agoa, if it didn’t open up local markets to US poultry, beef and pork.  South Africa raised...

The deadline for resolving disputes with the US passed yesterday, leaving South Africa at risk of losing its benefits under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) that translates into billions of rand in exports and supports thousands of jobs. At the same time, issues related to bacterial disease Salmonella associated with poultry and the quarantine of non-US originating beef arose as new hurdles to be cleared. Department of Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana and Health Minister Aaron...

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies says South Africa is on the verge of concluding Africa Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa) negotiations with the United States (US) to avoid tariffs being imposed on local meat exports. The US government announced last year that it would impose the tariffs if South Africa did not open up local markets to that country’s poultry, beef and pork. About R35 billion worth of the R70 billion exports to the US benefits the Agoa. South Africa raised health and safety concerns over the livestock and...

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies showed a lack of leadership in failing to drive the negotiating process to meet the December 31 2015 deadline set by US President Barack Obama for the opening up of the South African market for US meat exports. However, industry experts argue that the government was correct in not backing down on the sanitary and phytosanitary standards that apply to meat imports. The failure to reach an agreement on standards means SA’s agricultural exports to the US stand to lose...

As the deadline looms for South Africa to remove the barriers preventing imports of US chicken, pork, and beef, or lose the duty-free benefits for its agricultural exports under the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), ministers are set to provide an update on the negotiations on Monday. Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi are expected to address the media on the matter at 1pm in Pretoria. Last month, Davies had a bilateral...

The US on Monday is on the verge of suspending South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), after it missed its December 31 deadline to resolve a dispute on trade levies. Agoa, renewed by US lawmakers in June, eliminates import levies on more than 7 000 products ranging from textiles to manufactured items and benefits 39 sub-Saharan African nations. Total two-way trade between South Africa and the US was about R217bn last year. However, South Africa has failed to meet a deadline to resolve various disputes and will now...

US President Barack Obama is set to announce as early as Monday that he is suspending duty-free treatment of South African agricultural products under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). SA exports at risk, which include citrus, macadamia nuts and wine, were valued in the first 10 months of last year at more than R2bn, according to US trade data. Mr Obama’s expected move reflects deep frustration with what the White House and members of Congress, including long-time allies, see as Pretoria’s failure to meet mutually agreed...

US officials say they are both frustrated and perplexed by what they see as Pretoria’s chronic failure to meet mutually agreed benchmarks to forestall the suspension of African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) trade preferences that have helped SA’s farmers compete in what is still the world’s richest market. Particularly baffling, they say, has been the optimistic statements put out by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies and his team declaring that the issues involved are close to resolution. Who, they would like to know, is...

South Africa said it missed a Dec. 31 deadline set by the U.S. to resolve a trade dispute between the two countries, putting it at risk of losing duty-free access on its agricultural exports to the world’s largest economy. Health authorities from the two nations have yet to reach agreement on safety standards related to chicken and beef imports from the U.S., Trade Minister Rob Davies said. U.S. President Barack Obama will now decide whether South African farming goods will be excluded from a preferential trade agreement known as the...

Shoprite, which sells 60% of all frozen chicken in South Africa, is concerned that the price benefit of the recently approved chicken imports from the US will not reach consumers. The largest seller of frozen chicken in the country said at least half of the 65 000 tonnes of the chicken quota, all of which will be free of anti-dumping duties, will be given to middlemen who don't necessarily have the infrastructure or the distribution network. This means the true price benefit will not reach hard-pressed consumers, who need it most in trying...

Shoprite, South Africa’s biggest food retailer‚ says it is worried consumers will not benefit from cheap chicken after the recent approval of US imports without antidumping duties. The group says at least half of the 65‚000 tonnes of the chicken quota will be given to middlemen that do not necessarily have the infrastructure or the distribution network needed, and so the true price benefit will not reach consumers who need it most in trying economic times. "Shoprite understands the minister’s mandate to allocate a portion of the...

Ethiopia and Kenya both countries face challenges such as poor infrastructure, cumbersome customs procedures, a dearth of technical and managerial talent and low levels of social and environmental compliance although with Ethiopia offering cost advantages and Kenya boasts higher production efficiency. Following the 10-year renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) - under the United States' General System of Preferences that allows duty-free imports of a wide range of African products, which was signed by President Barack...

The Obama administration will use its every tool, including the trade privilege schemes like the GSP and AGOA, to improve labour laws and working conditions in the countries that have trading relations with the US, said US Trade Representative Michael Froman. Protecting labour rights is a core priority of President Barack Obama's trade agenda, the chief trade negotiator in the US said in a statement. Froman also announced that he will hold a hearing in January on several countries' labour rights situation under the generalised system of...

Relations between the US and South Africa have hit another low in a series of trade disputes that go as far back as 2003. While strengthening its relations with other countries, the US has threatened to suspend South Africa from its preferential trade programme for Africa due to its failure to comply with the latest terms of the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA). AGOA enables preferential access to the US market for African countries that meet specific criteria. The US extended these benefits to 2025 for South African products while...

There’s renewed hope in Kenya’s manufacturing. The country’s sustained campaign to market Kenya as a strategic destination for investment has seen manufacturers strive to grow their footprint into the region. Phyllis Wakiaga took over the helm of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) succeeding Betty Maina who had held the position for 11 years. The Business Beat caught up with Ms Wakiaga on her first interview since taking office to discuss the growth of the country’s manufacturing industry, the journey to formalise the...

The US will cancel South Africa’s duty- and quota-free access for agricultural products on 4 January unless sufficient progress is made to ensure market access to SA for American poultry meat, pork and beef. Prof. Nick Vink, chair of the department of agricultural economics at Stellenbosch University, explains some of the complexities around the negotiations. finweek: South African agricultural exports stand to lose full beneficiary status of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) by 4 January. Can this still be...