Agoa.info - African Growth and Opportunity Act
TRALAC - Trade Law Centre
You are here: Home/News/Article/US and South Africa's Western Cape province mark 6 month anniversary of trade and investment promotion partnership

US and South Africa's Western Cape province mark 6 month anniversary of trade and investment promotion partnership

US and South Africa's Western Cape province mark 6 month anniversary of trade and investment promotion partnership
Deputy Assistant Secretary Akunna Cook, United States Acting Consul General Will Stevens, Wesgro  Acting CEO Yaw Peprah
Published date:
Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Author:
Press release

The U.S. Consulate General in Cape Town and the Western Cape Government marked the first six months of the Trade and Investment Promotion Partnership, launched in February 2021.

The partnership deepens bilateral cooperation and coordination to promote and increase bilateral trade and investment through various engagements, events, and high-level interactions.

It reflects the United States’ role as the top foreign direct investor in the Western Cape and supports two-way annual trade valued at approximately 16 billion Rand.

During the first six months of the partnership, U.S. companies announced agreements with Biovac to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines in Cape Town.

U.S. tech companies and investors have provided millions of dollars in funding to Cape Town tech companies, and U.S. film companies have shot productions in the province. Other U.S. companies continue to expand and grow their operations in the Western Cape.

Trade continues to grow with 2021 citrus exports on pace to match or exceed 2020’s record-setting amount, which were valued at about $81 million. These and other trade and investment successes create jobs and other economic opportunities.

At a meeting to mark the anniversary, Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier, Wesgro Acting CEO Yaw Peprah, and U.S. Acting Consul General in Cape Town Will Stevens were joined by Deputy Assistant Secretary Akunna Cook, the senior U.S. Department of State official for economic issues in Africa.

Wesgro Acting CEO Peprah described Wesgro’s trade promotion service agreement with the Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as well as USAID’s support for Wesgro‘s promotion of agriculture and textile exports. The USAID Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub also assisted 14 Western Cape companies with exports to the United States during the first six months of the partnership.

In addition to the visit of Deputy Assistant Secretary Cook, the group noted various high-level engagements during the partnership’s first six months, such as the virtual visit to Cape Town of U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Middle East and Africa, Global Markets, Camille Richardson. They also highlighted that Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and other provincial officials shared investment opportunities in the Western Cape with over 100 U.S. private sector companies and representatives during an event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa in June.

Marking the anniversary, Minister Maynier said: “We are pleased with the results of the trade and investment promotion partnership which continues to grow from strength to strength and provides benefits for both regions. We have faced a number of shocks to the provincial economy and so the partnership couldn’t have come at a better time as we look to focus our efforts with urgency on saving jobs and rebuilding our economy in the Western Cape. In particular, the recent announcement by Pfizer and BioNTech of the agreement with Biovac to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines is a welcome boost of confidence to the economy in Cape Town and the Western Cape, which is already a leading hub for health tech and innovation in the medical sector.”

Secretary Akunna Cook

Deputy Assistant Secretary Akunna Cook, the senior U.S. Department of State official for economic issues in Africa, in conversation with Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier.

 

Deputy Assistant Secretary Cook said, “I was delighted to join this quarterly meeting of the trade and investment promotion partnership and to discuss the partnership’s successes over its first six months. The Biden Administration is committed to increasing two-way trade and investment and partnering with dynamic economies in Africa. This partnership reflects that commitment and demonstrates how we can promote mutually-beneficial economic development.”

Acting Consul General Stevens added, “We established the trade and investment promotion partnership on the basis of the strong economic and commercial ties between the United States and the Western Cape. The first six months of the partnership have been a resounding success, with huge investment trade wins that highlight the depth and breadth of those ties. The United States looks forward to growing our bilateral trade, which is currently valued at about $1 billion annually, and bringing more investment to the province as the top foreign direct investor in the Western Cape.”

The partnership’s success leverages the Western Cape’s decades of innovative trade and investment promotion and the expertise of 17 U.S. government agencies to support U.S. and South African businesses, and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows duty-free export of more than 6,5000 goods from Africa to the United States.

Read related news articles

South Africa walks a tightrope on US relations

South Africa has been conducting a high-wire act in its relations with the United States (US). It is maintaining friendships with Washington’s enemies like Russia, Iran and China while trying to avoid disrupting its economic relations with America. Tensions came closer than ever to breaking point this month as the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs passed the US-South Africa Bilateral Relations...

28 March 2024

Remarks by Deputy Treasury Secretary Adeyemo on the US-South Africa economic relationship

As Prepared for Delivery in Johannesburg, South Africa Thank you for the warm welcome. I want to express my gratitude to Consul General Spera and the American Chamber of Commerce for hosting me. I am honored to be joined today by South African Entrepreneurs that are building companies to unlock the economic potential of their country.  I owe my own presence here today to the inspiration I drew from South Africa. In the middle of the...

13 March 2024

South African president Ramaphosa meets with US congressional delegation

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa today, 21 February 2024, received for a visit from a bipartisan congressional delegation from the United States of America, in Tuynhuys, Cape Town. The delegation is visiting South Africa at the invitation of the Aspen Institute. The President and the US congressional delegation discussed the importance of the relationship between South Africa and the US, which manifests in strong economic,...

21 February 2024

US congress receives Bill to review South Africa relations

A bill has been submitted to the United States congress calling for a full review of the country’s bilateral relationship with South Africa following the International Court of Justice ruling that found it plausible that Israel has committed acts of genocide against Gaza. The bipartisan bill which was introduced by US Republican congressman John James and Democratic Party congressman Jared Moskowitz this week could threaten South...

09 February 2024

Fitch research unit expects better AGOA deal for South Africa

Fitch’s research arm, BMI, believes SA has done enough to get improved trade terms under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa), which it expects to be extended and modified before its expiry in September 2025. But it warns that the deal might be stillborn if Donald Trump is elected US president. The research think-tank said in a note it assigns a 65% probability that Agoa will not only be renewed but modified to the benefit of...

09 January 2024

South Africa: BLSA CEO calls for more companies to leverage AGOA opportunities

Many more South African companies could benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which gives eligible countries access to US markets free of tariff barriers, business organisation BusinessLeadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso writes in her weekly newsletter. Apart from mainstream formal sector businesses, there are opportunities to enable more entrepreneurs, including women-led...

20 November 2023

US ambassador: AGOA is an opportunity to deepen ties between the US and South Africa

President Joe Biden last December at the US-Africa Leaders Summit affirmed that the US will elevate its relationship with Africa. The future is Africa. One example is its youthful population: the median age on the continent is 19. By 2050, one in four people in the world will be in Africa. The US wants them to be healthy and wealthy. What happens in Africa will affect the rest of the globe — and we want to work together to ensure it is...

09 November 2023

US Senator Chris Coons proposes AGOA extension by 16 years, immediate review of SA’s AGOA eligibility

Powerful US Democratic Party Senator Chris Coons is circulating a discussion draft of a Bill to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) for 16 years that would also require an immediate “out-of-cycle” review of South Africa’s eligibility for Agoa. That could lead to South Africa being removed next year from the programme, which has provided considerable benefits to SA exporters to the US of cars, fruits and wine, in...

07 November 2023

AGOA benefits extend beyond trade [incl. VIDEO of Friday's opening session]

Economies in Sub-Saharan countries stand to benefit far more from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) than notable trade statistics, says President Cyril Ramaphosa. “AGOA enhances the diversification of African economies, enabling them to export value-added products. By enabling African countries to have preferential access to the US market, this opportunity incentivises African countries to develop and export value-added goods...

06 November 2023

South Africa pins its hopes on an early 2024 US Congress renewal of AGOA

South Africa’s government is hoping that the process to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) by the US Congress will be concluded by early 2024, ensuring that more than 20 African countries continue to have duty-free access to the world’s largest economy.   This is the first time that the South African government has given a timeline for when it hopes the US Congress might extend Agoa, which has been renewed twice...

05 November 2023

SA trade minister Patel expresses confidence at media briefing about South Africa’s continued inclusion in AGOA

Ahead of South Africa hosting the US-AfricaTrade and Economic Cooperation Forum – also called the AGOA Forum – from November 2 to 4, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel on October 26 briefed the media on the state of readiness for the forum, expressing confidence that the South African government’s relations with the US were strong. Various South African stakeholders have been motivating for...

26 October 2023

You are here: Home/News/Article/US and South Africa's Western Cape province mark 6 month anniversary of trade and investment promotion partnership