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The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was enacted by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on 18th May, 2000 as a component of the Trade and Development Act 2000.The Act seeks to enhance trade and investment between the United States and Africa by providing for one way trade preferences to products originating from eligible AGOA countries.AGOA builds on the existing Generalized System of Preferences program to allow eligible AGOA countries to export over 6,000 eligible products to the United States...

The Zambia Institute of Marketing (ZIM) says the planned AGOA meeting may trigger fresh investments into the country.Zambia will host this year’s Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) conference between June 6 and June 8.The conference is aimed at enhancing market access to the United States by eligible sub-Saharan African countries to export some products on duty-free and quota-free basis.Commenting on the planned conference, ZIM president David Kombe said the initiative offers the country an opportunity to boost its trade and attract...

It is more commonly known as the AGOA Forum - named after the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the US law that allows tariff-free entry into the American market for up to 6500 products from 39 Sub-Saharan African countries.The forum periodically brings together African business people, government leaders and civil society groups and their American counterparts for discussions on trade, investment and the enhancement of free markets. The focus is always on further measures the US and sub-Saharan African nations can jointly take to...

US Secretary of States Hillary Clinton and trade representative Ron Kirk will be among the 2,000 American delegates expected to attend the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum in Lusaka next year. The forum, whose proposed theme is 'Enhancing productivity and value-addition for deeper economic integration', will be held at Lusaka's Mulungushi International Conference Centre from June 7 to 8, and will be preceded by a business meeting. Speaking at the AGOA stakeholders' preparatory meeting held in Lusaka at the weekend, USA Embassy in...

Less than two years ago, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama made headlines as they landed in Accra, Ghana. The July 2009 visit was historic, coming only months after Obama was sworn in as our first African-American president. For some Americans, media coverage of the trip was a wake-up call that showed Africa as a coveted partner for businesses from South America, Europe, the Middle East, India and, especially, China.Responding to text messages submitted by Africans, the president recognized Africa's strategic and long-term...

Business at the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) is steadily picking up after exports were bit by the global financial crisis, a report by the EPZ authority shows.The report indicates that 100 local and foreign companies ploughed in Sh 22.6 billion in investments in 2010 a 5.4 % increase in investment as compared to the previous year.Out of the total companies spread across the country 54.7% are foreign owned and came in to take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) that gives countries incentives to open up their economies...

Zambia will in June this year host a big international conference of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) at which more than 1, 500 delegates from eligible countries, the United States and other stakeholders will be in attendance.As Zambia intensifies preparations for this once-in-a-while event, a high level meeting of ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, and a committee of experts from the African Union (AU) member states held a weeklong meeting in Addis Ababa under the auspices of the AU and the United Nations...

Ethiopia is building its capacity to maximize benefits from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) opportunities that the United States provided to African countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. In an exclusive interview with ENA, U.S.A. Affairs Directorate Director with the Ministry, Ambassador Taye Atskesilassie said that even though AGOA opportunities allow African countries to export more than 6,200 products to the U.S.A. quota and tariff free, Ethiopia is not benefiting as some African countries from the opportunity.He...

he Minister for Trade and Industry Hanna Tetteh has described the decision to establish a Free Zone in Ghana, as a very wise one by the NDC administration under former President Jerry Rawlings.Miss Hanna Tetteh made the statement when she together with the American Ambassador to Ghana Donald Teitelbaum opened Lucky 1888 Mills, LLC a leading global manufacturer of home and commercial textiles catering for the retail, hospitality and healthcare markets worldwide.According to the minister, when the act was passed there were lots of concerns as...

Uganda will this month host a forum on trade and investment that will showcase the country’s various business opportunities, the Uganda Investment Authority has said.The conference dubbed, United States –Uganda Trade and Business Forum, is the second of its kind and a follow-up of the first business forum which was held in Chicago, United States in 2009.Ms Doris Mitti, the UIA deputy director, communications said the forum will offer fresh perspectives on how businesses can create sustainable growth and add value while capitalising on...

Zambia has not fully taken advantage of the Africa Growth Opportunity Act due to supply side constraints, says Zambia Development Agency export and market development expert Moses Simemba.Zambia’s export figures to the USA under act, including the General System of Preferences (GSP) provisions of the USA law, rose steadily from US$361,000 in 2006 to US$10.9 million in 2008 and decline thereafter, with an export figure of just US $121,000 in 2009.Addressing the media on Zambia’s AGOA experience, Simemba said Zambia had previously failed...

A high power United States Trade Delegation, headed by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, arrived in Liberia on yesterday on a four-day visit.The American Trade Delegation is in the country to acquaint itself with trade relations between Liberia and the United States.While in the country, the delegation will hold talks with high-ranking Liberian Government officials and host a one-day forum today on “U.S.-Liberia Trade & Investment Relationship.”The forum will be held at the U.S. Embassy’s Public Diplomacy...

Bilateral trade between the United States (US) and Ghana grew by 48 per cent in 2010, reaching nearly $1.3 billion.This consisted of diverse exports, such as cocoa, vegetables, machinery, and vehicles.Mr Demetrios J. Marantis, Deputy United States Trade Representative (DUSTR), who announced this, said US investment in Ghana was valued at nearly $1 billion and likely to increase, as new economic opportunities materialise and bilateral links multiply, including the recently inaugurated direct flight link between Accra and Washington D.C.He was...

As the White House scrambles to keep pace with the fast changes taking place across North Africa, the administration should reassess another vital aspect of U.S. policy toward the continent – preferential trade.For more than a decade, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) has been the cornerstone of commercial and trade relations between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. By providing African countries with non-reciprocal access to the American market, Agoa was a bold effort to employ trade as a stimulus for economic...

Fabrics from Kenya’s export processing zones could be barred from entering the US market under the lucrative Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) if the country fails to produce enough raw materials for its textile industry.Agoa, which gives 38 African countries free access to the American market for a wide variety of goods, will in September next year demand that countries be self-reliant in raw materials used in the manufacture of exports.“Once the clause on self reliance comes into effect, our exports will not compete with the...

Speech by Mr. Sebastian Kopulande, Chief Executive Officer, ZambianInternational Trade and Investment Centre at the US-Africa Business Executives Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, February 14, 2011Today, we the people of Africa have come to Las Vegas, Nevada at this epoch-making US-Africa Business Executives Convention, not to live up to our past reputation of empty hats begging for external fill-up while offering apologies and apportioning blame for our poverty. This time around, we have come from all corners of our continent...

Madagascar’s ousted President Marc Ravalomanana is due to return home Saturday from exile in South Africa despite a warrant for his immediate arrest. It has been almost two years since a coup d’etat and ensuing political standoff sparked an economic crisis in Madagascar characterized by the freezing of most foreign aid and investment. The businessmen in the island nation are uncertain about the country’s economy as the crisis prepares to enter its third year.The President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Madagascar, Robert...

All around Lesotho, the tiny nation surrounded by South Africa, thousands of workers ply their trade in the country's many textile factories.For 35-year-old Esther Maphatle, her job demands that she stands on the production line for sometimes 10 hours a day, looking through pair after pair of jeans for imperfections.But Maphatle, who is HIV-positive, doesn't complain about the strenuous task. She is considered to be among the lucky ones to have a job in a country where nearly half the population is unemployed and one in four is HIV-positive...

South Africa’s trade surplus with the US grew by 80.7% in 2010 to $2.58bn (R18.83bn) from $1.436bn in 2009. That is according to the latest data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.This sterling performance was due to a 39.6% rise in South African exports to the US to $8.2bn, while South African imports of American goods increased by 26.4% to $5.6bn.Trade between the US and South Africa has expanded dramatically since the passage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2000, which significantly enhanced access to the...

Zambia's President Banda has called on the United States of America to invest in Zambia because the country is one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world.Mr Banda has also appealed to the United States government to help Zambia improve its infrastructure, especially the road network, to meet the demands of a growing economy.The President was speaking at State House on February 7 when visiting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jonnie Carson paid a courtesy call on him.He called on the American business...

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Tuesday welcomed a decision by the Government of the United States to provide duty-free preference for Liberian textile and clothing being imported into the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).Speaking in Sinkor during a tour of Liberian textile and clothing, the President described the decision as a milestone for the Government, Liberian manufacturers and exporters of Liberian made textiles and clothing. The President noted that the program will help Liberian manufacturers of textile and...

Africa is in danger of losing its preferential trade access to the US. SA — the continent’s biggest non-oil beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) — should be alarmed and take the lead in advocating for Agoa’s survival. But in my conversations with South African business people, I detect little sense of urgency. Indeed, there is often an assumption that Agoa’s extension is a foregone conclusion.Not so.Ten years after Agoa was passed, opinion in US policy circles appears to be quietly coalescing around the idea...

Coats Plc’s Madagascar unit expects to return to profit this year and revenue to recover in 2012 when U.S. trade concessions are restored, said Salim Mugon, the company’s director in the country.Annual turnover at Coats Madagascar, the Indian Ocean island nation’s biggest sewing thread maker, fell by 50 percent to $1.6 million last year, Mugon said today in an interview in Antananarivo, the capital.The U.S. suspended Madagascar from its Africa Growth & Opportunity Act, which allows African states to export goods to the U.S. duty-free,...

The United States government has raised concern on Zambia’s failure to capitalize on the Agriculture and Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) to increase its exports.US Ambassador to Zambia Mark Storella says Zambia has failed to increase its exports into the US owing to huge competition from neighbouring countries.Mr. Storella says Zambia’s products are expensive compared to those from other countries as a result of high production costs.He has expressed optimism that the forthcoming AGOA Forum to be held in the Zambian capital Lusaka in June...

In her 6th and final Annual Report to the 52nd Legislature on Monday, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf disclosed that Liberia is on the verge of becoming a petroleum exporter in the coming decade. The Liberian leader who said they anticipated oil exploration off Liberia's coast in the last quarter of the year quickly clarified that before the country exports a drop of oil her government will have the policies in place that dictate how oil wealth will be used for development, stability, and poverty reduction. President Johnson-Sirleaf further...

President Barack Obama’s Administration remained “profoundly committed to putting Africa back at the centre of US foreign policy” and there would be “a greater emphasis on Africa in 2011 and 2012”, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of African Affairs Bruce Wharton said in Washington DC this week.But he also warned that it would require a concerted effort to convince Americans to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which currently offers preferential market access on 7 000 African...

US Secretary of States Hillary Clinton and Trade Representative Ron Kirk will be among the 2,000 American delegates expected to attend the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum in Lusaka next year.The forum, whose proposed theme is Enhancing productivity and value addition for deeper economic integration, will be held at Lusaka’s Mulungushi International Conference Centre from June 7 to 8, and will be preceded by a business meeting.Speaking at the AGOA stakeholders’ preparatory meeting held in Lusaka over the weekend, USA embassy...

Kenyan textile sector for long has been reaping the benefits from a major trade pact with the American Government, but now this seems to be under severe threat, as the cotton processors in Kenya are apprehending severe cotton shortage in the country.While the official statistics portray a rise in the Kenya’s overall cotton production over the past few years, the cotton ginners in the country are talking about the severe shortage of the commodity.This situation is thus, raising serious apprehensions regarding the country’s ability to draw...

More than 380 registered textile factories are likely to relocate from South Africa to neighbouring countries such as Swaziland and Lesotho. This means that 15 000 jobs would soon be available (shared among the countries) following the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU’s) insistence on maintaining current minimum wages in the industry. “This may lead to retrenchments, factory closures and relocations to neighbouring countries such as Lesotho and Swaziland, according to industry employers,” Sapa...

Kenya's textile industry's continued benefit from a major trade agreement with the American Government is under serious threat with processors raising the red flag over a possible crippling shortage of cotton.While the industry regulator, Cotton Development Authority (CODA), says the country's production has improved over the last few years, cotton ginneries are talking of a serious dearth of the crop.And this is raising serious concerns over the country's ability to reap from phase four of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa),...

The decision by cotton stakeholders, through the Tanzania Cotton Board, to revive the crop should be commended. Cotton production in Tanzania has for a long time been characterised by low production and poor quality. Lack of modernisation and efficient supporting infrastructure has contributed to the decline in productivity.These and other impediments such as lack of access to financial facilities have led farmers to shift to other cash crops. About half a million Tanzanians in 13 regions cultivate cotton but it is estimated that over...

The suspension of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is not a sanction and does not undermine the relationship between Kinshasa and Washington, Spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in the DRC, Satrajit Sardar, told journalists here Tuesday."The decree issued by President Barack Obama suspending the DRC from AGOA is not a sanction but a legislative requirement," said Mr. Sardar, adding that the U.S. would continue to work closely with the Congolese authorities to support efforts to improve...

The Democratic Republic of Congo has criticized a US decision to remove the country form a program allowing African countries to export products to the United States.The White House on Tuesday took Congo from the program of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).The program is supposedly designed to promote "democracy and prosperity" in Africa's poorest countries, giving the countries greater access to the US market 'as long as they make democratic advances.'As of January 2011, Congo will lose its partnership status in the United...

The United States Ambassador to Sierra Leone H.E Micheal Owen has said in Freetown that one of the things he would like to do is to change the war image people still have of the country in the United States.Ambassador Owen made this statement during an interview with Awoko at his Leicester office.He said “One of the things that I have already noticed is that in the US there is still a certain image of Sierra Leone that sort of coincides with the civil war. People still sort of view Sierra Leone as a violent sort of unstable country to a...

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), through its Communication Minister Lambert Mende, has reacted angrily to the country's removal from the U. S. program of "African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)", a program which allows African countries to export products to the United States.U.S. President Barack Obama decided on Tuesday to remove DR Congo from the list of AGOA program. Starting in January 2011, DR Congo will not be part of this commercial network and will lose its privileged partnership status in the United...

US President Barak Obama on Tuesday issued a Presidential Proclamation, which inter alia removes the Democratic Republic of Congo from the list of countries that qualify for AGOA preferences. The Proclamation reads as follows:The White HouseOffice of the Press SecretaryFor Immediate ReleaseDecember 21, 2010Presidential Proclamation--African Growth and Opportunity ActTO TAKE CERTAIN ACTIONS UNDER THE AFRICAN GROWTHAND OPPORTUNITY ACT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES1. Section 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the "1974 Act") (19 U.S.C....

The Minister for Trade and Industry, Ms. Hannah Tetteh has said government will empower the private sector to stimulate growth and create the needed employment in the country.She intoned that the government will spearhead vital policies and programmes to ensure that targets under the 2011 budget is fully attained since the private sector is the engine of growth,.Ms. Tetteh revealed this in Parliament yesterday, when she moved the motion for the approval of GH¢82, 603,136 for the activities of the Ministry of Trade and Industry for 2011...

Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Executive Director Glyne Michelo has disclosed that Zambia has made tremendous success in penetrating American markets under the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA).Mr Michelo said this during the AGOA stakeholders preparatory meeting held today at Mulungushi International Conference Center in Lusaka today.He said Zambia has done well especially in exporting agriculture products to the United States of American Markets.Mr Michelo said Zambia’s agricultural exports which include vegetables and flowers are on...

Mozambican clothing manufacturer Moztex, formerly known as Texlom, has started to export articles of clothing to South Africa, and since August has exported 1,200 items to its neighbouring market, a company official said in Matola Wednesday. The representative for Portugal and Mozambique of the Aga Khan Development Network, Nazim Ahmad, said that the company planned to start exporting its products to the United States under the terms of the AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act) initiative, and to Europe as of 2011. Ahmad said that in...

The government has finished making an assessment of industries and factories which do not operate effectively after being handed to investors several years ago, the Minister for industry and trade, Dr Cyril Chami said yesterday.The Minister was speaking shortly after launching a two days East Africa Community (EAC) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) workshop on industrial upgrading and modernization programme which is basically aiming at improving both small and medium scale industry’ production in the...

Entrepreneurs undoubtedly form the building base of any developing country though in most cases they remain unsung heroes of any progressive society Economic reforms, involving shifting from socialism and central planning to a market-led economy, that started almost a quarter of a century ago have seen many entrepreneurs in Tanzania struggling to shake off the social stigma associated with private business activity. In that course the relationship between entrepreneurs and government officials in Tanzania is still ...

Zambia has not benefit significantly from the AGOA trade programme with the United States of America since its inception 10 years ago, Commerce minister Felix Mutati has said.Speaking during the 2011 Sub-Sahara – US AGOA forum at Lusaka’s Pamodzi Hotel, Mr. Mutati said there was a growing trade imbalance between Zambia and America.“From the ongoing statistics and the scenario, it is very clear that there is a growing trade imbalance between our two countries. Therefore hosting the AGOA forum presents an opportunity for Zambia to...

The recently launched Southern Africa Trade Hub (SATH) is set to play a key role in addressing challenges of economic growth and poverty reduction in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. Officially launching the initiative in Gaborone last Thursday, US Ambassador to Botswana Stephen Nolan said he strongly believed that increased trade is key to achieving greater economic growth and poverty reduction in the region. "It is particularly important to address the challenge of food security in many countries. I am confident...

Commerce, trade and industry Minister Felix Mutati has observed that Zambia still face challenges into the exportation of goods to the US market because of standards.Mr. Mutati said that though African countries, Zambia inclusive have market access into the US, through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) , issue of standard has complicated the entry of goods.He has stated that at the next AGOA summit, Zambia is likely to address challenges that hamper trade with the US.The Commerce and Trade Minister noted that since trade with the...

African Trade Ministers recently criticised attempts by Europe to get them to sign Economic Partnership Agreements that would damage their economies, and they are proposing more beneficial alternatives.”The economies of Africa, the world’s poorest region, are under severe threat from free trade agreements that they are under pressure to sign with the European Union, the world’s richest region.Under these economic partnership agreements (EPAs), Europe wants Africa to open up its economies to European goods, services and companies.But...

The US government has increased funding to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Africa's largest trading block, for the 2010/2011 financial year, the Zambia Daily Mail reported on Saturday. President Barack Obama's government has increased the funding from 1.593 million U. S. dollars allocated in the last program to 4 million dollars, according to Daily Mail. COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya said on Friday when U. S. Ambassador to Zambia Mark Storella presented his credentials as Washington's special...

Kenya’s textile sector is seeing a huge growth opportunity in the US where cash-strapped consumers are turning to lower priced duty-free imports from Africa as opposed to competitors from Asian markets whose exports to the biggest consumer market attract duty.The aftermath of the recession is giving textile imports from Africa, under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) agreement, a price leverage in the eyes of US consumers.“We are seeing a shift in demand for textiles from countries like India, China, and Sri Lanka to African...

South Africa's increasingly competitive pick-up market will welcome a new combatant next year, as Ford this week provided the first glimpse of its new, bigger one-ton Ranger, which will be produced in Pretoria for the local market, the rest of Africa, as well as Europe, Russia and Turkey.The new Ranger, designed in Australia, is to follow in the footsteps of the recently launched Volkswagen Amarok in taking on Toyota's long-time dominance in the local pick-up market.The reinvented Ranger comes to the local production scene in a R3-billion...

Analysis: It was pleasing to read in one of the local newspapers recently that President Museveni scoffed at exporters who seem to be satisfied with the country’s combined total export earnings estimated at a paltry $3.6 billion, which is equal to an average company’s annual turnover in some countries. ‘Are you a company?’ the President asked. The President was presiding over the 11th Presidential Exports Awards Ceremony.It was reported that exports in Uganda contribute 20 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. This is corroborated...