Agoa.info - African Growth and Opportunity Act
TRALAC - Trade Law Centre
You are here: Home/News/Article/Sierra Leone to launch its AGOA response strategy

Sierra Leone to launch its AGOA response strategy

Published date:
Monday, 11 February 2019
Author:
Zainab Iyamide Joaque
Source:

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), an initiative of the United States Government, allows low-income countries to access the US market on very favourable trade terms. 

The implementation of the new AGOA Strategy will allow Sierra Leone to benefit from duty free access to US markets when exporting products produced in the country. 

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in collaboration with the International Growth Centre (IGC) will tomorrow Tuesday 12 February, 2019 launch the National AGOA Response Strategy at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Aberdeen. 

The Strategy launch is expected to be done by Peter B. Konteh, Minister of Trade and Industry and will be followed by a Forum on New Directions for Trade and Private Sector Expansion in Sierra Leone. 

After the strategy launch, a panel of policymakers and private sector representatives will discuss the findings of some of the studies that influenced the design of the strategy.

The IGC aims for these studies, among others, to inform a new direction in the development of the private sector in Sierra Leone. 


 

>> See a presentation on the Sierra Leone strategy alongside or download the full strategy from the Downloads menu. 


 

Although the initiative has been in place for almost 20 years, Sierra Leone had not made use of the opportunity. The Government recently requested support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to develop a strategy for accessing the US market through AGOA. The IGC, in collaboration with MTI and the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA), undertook extensive consultations and research over the past year to help develop the AGOA Strategy. 

Herbert M’cleod, IGC Sierra Leone Country Director said that they hope that the forum will be an opportunity for frank discussions on challenges and opportunities facing trade and the development of the private sector, as well as its impact on future growth and sustainable development. 

sierraleoneAGOA2

Furthermore, given the intention of the government to promote trade and private sector development with a view to diversifying the economy, the discussions and recommendations from the event should contribute towards the development of the national trade strategy and will set the foundations for Government’s reform efforts. 

According to the IGC, the research on the private sector ranges from details of cross-border trade with neighbouring countries, employment of graduates in the formal sector, supply-side constraints to expansion of manufacturing, and most importantly, the underlying factors restraining growth and expansion of the private sector and the economy. 

The results of the studies point to changes needed for the private sector to play the role expected in the development of the state including creating jobs and generally enhancing the transformation of the economy. A summary of the findings and recommendations of the studies will be presented at the forum.

>> Obtain a copy of the strategy in the AGOA.info 'AGOA Strategies' Download Section. 


 

Read related news articles

Namibia launches AGOA strategy to increase tariff-free exports to the United States

Today, U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson joined Minister of Industrialisation and Trade Lucia Iipumbu to officially launch Namibia’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Utilization Strategy. The strategy seeks to increase Namibia’s exports under the AGOA program, which allows Namibia to export over 6,400 products tariff-free to the United States. This joint effort to develop the AGOA strategy is part of the United States’ efforts to...

11 May 2021

US and Botswana MITI launch revised AGOA Utilization Strategy to improve economic growth in Botswana

On April 29, the Embassy of the United States of America joined the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) and other stakeholders to launch the revised strategy (see link to download) at the Hilton Garden Inn in Gaborone.   U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Botswana, Craig L. Cloud, joined Minister Mmusi Kgafela to formally launch the strategy.   Also present were the USAID Representative to Botswana, Ms....

03 May 2021

Sierra Leone mining dispute threatens US firms

The decision by Sierra Leone to shut down the operations of U.S.-owned SL Mining has called into question that government’s commitment to the rule of law with regard to foreign investors. Since the mid-1990s, the U.S. Government has initiated various programs to boost U.S.-Africa trade and investment – from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to the Prosper Africa initiative that was launched in 2018. The success of these...

17 April 2021

Uganda: Government working on new AGOA strategy

Uganda will, before the end of April, reportedly launch a national strategy that will identify key products that Uganda can leverage on to improve its exports to US.  The strategy, whose formulation started in 2016, seeks to among others, identify five key products that can influence Uganda’s penetration into the US market.  Ms Suzan Muhwezi, the head of Agoa Secretariat, said the strategy has already been tabled before...

15 April 2019

New Ethiopia AGOA strategy in full swing

The USAID Hub’s lead African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) strategy consultant is in Ethiopia this week to gather supply-side information and conduct a sector analysis for a new Ethiopia National AGOA Strategy. The Ethiopian government requested the Hub to provide technical assistance on the Strategy, which will set strategic actions and targets for significant growth in exports from Ethiopia to the United States by 2025. The Hub began...

17 January 2019

USAID supports Kenya’s AGOA strategy to double duty-free exports by 2023

Kenya’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives has launched the Kenya National African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Strategy and Action Plan (2018-2023) alongside Kenya’s National Export Development and Promotion Strategy.  The new National AGOA Strategy outlines actions for priority sectors to increase the country’s exports to the U.S. by 10.4 percent annually. In 2017, Kenya exported goods worth $572 million to the...

31 July 2018

Kenya: New national export strategy seeks to grow exports to KSh 1.3t by 2022

The Cabinet Secretary for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Hon. Peter Munya has lauded the 2nd Kenya Trade Week and Exposition forum at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). Speaking at the opening ceremony on Monday, the CS lauded the forum for bringing together both private and public sector players to chat ways of bridging Kenya’s imports and exports gap. He emphasised the importance of Buy Kenya, Build Kenya which aims...

31 July 2018

Kenya develops new AGOA strategy

Kenya will have an advantage of increasing its exports to the United States when direct flights between the two countries begin in October this year. Principal Secretary State Department of Trade Dr. Chris Kiptoo said that Kenya, which is leading in Sub-Sahara exports, considers the US as a strategic market that it is ranked number three in terms of an export destination for Kenyan goods. He was addressing delegates in export business who...

19 January 2018

Sierra Leone: Workshops offer training before Sierra Leone’s AGOA national strategy launch

Ahead of Sierra Leone’s U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) strategy launch, two Trade Hub-hosted workshops for national officials focused on AGOA standards and other customs procedures. The Freetown trainings, hosted on November 15 and 16, attracted participants from Sierra Leone’s Department of Foreign Trade, the Executive Office of the Permanent Secretary, and the Department of Domestic Commerce and Trade at the Ministry of...

28 November 2017

Kenya: TradeHub conducts national AGOA Strategy review workshops

From November 22-23, the Hub collaborated with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives to conduct stakeholder workshops on home décor and fashion accessories, textile and apparel, and coffee. Participants discussed the supply constraints that can hinder exports and developed sector action plans to mitigate those constraints. They also refined the Hub-supported end-market analysis draft reports designed to help Kenyan businesses...

23 November 2017

You are here: Home/News/Article/Sierra Leone to launch its AGOA response strategy