Agoa.info - African Growth and Opportunity Act
TRALAC - Trade Law Centre
You are here: Home/News/Article/Obama vows "improved AGOA" during Africa visit

Obama vows "improved AGOA" during Africa visit

Obama vows
President Barack Obama lands in Senegal for the start of his Africa trip
Published date:
Friday, 28 June 2013
Author:
Global Times (China)

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to allow African countries to access the US market without paying duty will be "renewed and improved," US President Barack Obama says during his visit to Senegal."AGOA will end in two years time. But I will seek for modalities to renew and improve the law to regenerate more trade and employment opportunities," the US president told a joint press conference with his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall.

He said the US will work more in the commercial sector with the West Africa region, noting that he had ordered his commerce secretary to finalize a new investment agreement with the 15- member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

He noted that the US objective is to ensure expanded growth through its development programs.Regarding Senegal, Obama said the US will remain the most important partner.

"We shall build new roads and bridges to allow goods to reach the markets and ensure schools are built and connected to the Internet so that the students can expand their learning," he added.He also pledged that the US will invest in the agricultural sector on the African continent. "Our initiative on food security seeks to help farmers to develop new seeds that will ensure they increase production and income," he said.The US president, among others, promised to work closely with the Senegalese authorities in the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria.Obama arrived here on Wednesday on a three-nation African trip, which will also take him to South Africa and Tanzania.

Read related news articles

The United States and Africa: Building a 21st Century Partnership (Speech by Secretary Blinken)

Speech by Anthony J. Blinken, Secretary of StateEconomic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)Abuja, NigeriaNovember 19, 2021 SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good morning, everyone.  Thank you very much, Vice President Koroma.  Thank you for the very kind introduction, but thank you especially for your leadership here at ECOWAS – not just today, but every single day.  And it’s very good to be here at ECOWAS, which makes...

19 November 2021

Nigeria: AGOA a vital boost for Aba leather, garment cluster

In a bid to enhance the industrial value of manufacturers in Abia State, Fidelity Bank, in collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Ghana-based West African Trade and Investment (WATI) hub recently held a capacity building workshop on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to sensitise the Aba leather and garment cluster on essential services targeted to build their businesses. Amby Uneze reports. As part of...

27 April 2017

Nigeria: Experts canvass measures to boost non-oil export through AGOA

Nigeria’s current economic situation, particularly the disparity between naira and U.S. dollar present huge opportunities that must force government and stakeholders to boost non-oil exportation through  the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), experts have said. The experts spoke on Tuesday, at a training organised in Lagos by the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), to reverse Nigeria’s poor participation in the...

06 April 2017

Liberia: AGOA to help local entrepreneurs enter US market

A one-day informational session on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which aimed to help local entrepreneurs enter the United States market with value-added products, has ended in Monrovia. The forum, which brought together over 50 entrepreneurs in agriculture and business, was organized by the Liberia Chamber of Commerce (LCC) and Building Markets in collaboration with USAID and the West African Trade and Investment...

27 January 2017

Sierra Leone: Local producers trained on AGOA trade benefits

The Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA) in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the West Africa Trade and Investment Hub yesterday organized a one day sensitization workshop for executives of local companies at the Hub Hotel Wilberforce in Freetown. Sharka Kawa Export Development Officer of SLIEPA spoke about the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and it export...

25 January 2017

US moves to boost AGOA in West Africa

The U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID)’s West Africa Trade and Investment Hub, on Friday said that it recently trained coordinators in West Africa to boost business and trade with the U.S. The U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria said in a statement that the coordinators were drawn from the Republics of Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal. According to it, the Coordinators are to...

15 April 2016

West Africa: Rep. Bass to join US Secretary of Commerce Pritzker in visiting W Africa to promote trade

Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.) announced today that she would join U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and 20 American companies, including two California companies, on an Energy Business Development trade mission to Nigeria. The California firms joining the mission are SolarReserve from Santa Monica and EEC from Burlingame. Following the trade mission, Congresswoman Bass and Secretary Pritzker will travel to Ethiopia to promote...

22 May 2014

How the ECOWAS-EU EPA could affect AGOA

In what could be a 'breakthrough' for both the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union (EU), the EU announced that "the two entities reached a deal at the level of senior officials on EPAs, more than a decade after negotiations began. A final meeting to officially endorse the deal as it stands is foreseen in Brussels for early February. It will then have to be endorsed by West African Heads of State."...

14 February 2014

West Africa: US and West African countries work towards trade deal

The United States is working with West African countries to reach a trade and investment agreement that supports efforts at economic growth and integration as American companies increasingly look toward Africa for business opportunities. U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis told AllAfrica that discussions on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) took place last...

05 April 2013

TIFA will help ease trade in West Africa

The Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) that is being considered by the US Government with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will help goods move more easily and faster within the sub-region, Sam Ntum, a Senior International Trade Specialist of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, has told the B&FT. Announced on March 29 by the acting United States Trade Representative (USTR),...

08 March 2013

You are here: Home/News/Article/Obama vows "improved AGOA" during Africa visit