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Cameroon: Business Delegation leaves for Washington

Published date:
Sunday, 13 June 2004

US trade representative says there will be no immediate extension to the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) facility until Congress approves.

According to the Africa Economy Magazine, US assistant trade representative Florizelle Liser told African trade ministers during a consultative meeting in Mombasa, Kenya recently that the extension to the AGOA facility was dependent on a favourable response from the American Congress.

She said a bill on the AGOA extension would have to be tabled before Congress.

Ms Liser said "The American legislators are planning to introduce the new bill by mid-year this year, that would set the date for the extension of the AGOA agreement."

Ms Liser, however, said her government had been studying the possibility of an extension to the AGOA facility.

African governments have intensely been lobbying to have the AGOA facility extended up to 2015, that would see them increase their exports and preferential facility to the US market.

Since the advent of AGOA in 2000, sub-Saharan Africa has doubled its exports to the US to about US$803 million, spurring growth of the manufacturing sectors in countries benefiting and fully utilising the AGOA facility.

Among products that have found a favourable market in the US are textile and apparel.

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