Ministers meet US ambassador on AGOA
South Africa’s trade and industry, health and agriculture ministers met United States ambassador Patrick Gaspard in an “extra time” effort to try to resolve a persistent trade dispute and so avoid South Africa losing lucrative duty-free entry into the US market for South African agricultural exports.
But it seemed unlikely that the meeting would have been in time to prevent US President Barack Obama announcing that the US would immediately suspend South Africa’s benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
Obama was expected to do that at any moment after US and South African officials failed during last-ditch New Year’s eve negotiations to reach agreement on allowing US chicken and beef imports into South Africa.
Obama had announced on November 5 that he would suspend Agoa duty-free access to the US market for South African agricultural products if the US meat products were not allowed into South Africa by November 4.
But the South African government would not budge, citing continuing health concerns.
After resolving a dispute about US avian flu which had been blocking US chicken imports, Pretoria raised new concerns about US poultry being infected by salmonella.
The US insists that these concerns are “unscientific” and that salmonella is destroyed merely by cooking.
South Africa also raised new concerns about US beef being infected by mad-cow disease.
Officials said that the US herd includes animals imported from Canada and Mexico and that it was not convinced these were free from the disease.
According to media reports, Pretoria is demanding that the US quarantine these imported cattle. The US appears to be resisting that demand.
South African health concerns about US pork appear to have been resolved and only require the formality of signing health certificates.
US officials profess to be mystified by the South African health concerns. They say that they export chicken to about 160 countries without any health problems and also export beef and pork to about the same number.
They noted today that the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Food Security Index had ranked the US first among 109 countries assessed, with a mark of 89 percent.
They compared that with Brazil – a major exporter of chicken to South Africa – which ranked only 36th with a mark of 67,4 percent. And the index ranked South Africa itself 41st with a mark of 64,5 percent.
South Africa’s health concerns have jeopardised billion of rands of exports of agricultural products to the US, mainly citrus, wine and macadamia nuts.
Last year the country exported R2-billion worth of agricultural goods in the first ten months.
But on Monday health minister Aaron Motsoaledi defended South Africa’s position, saying that no government could expose its citizens to disease.
Trade and industry minister Rob Davies said the effort to prevent the country losing its AGOA benefits was in “extra time”, while adding that his government did not know when the US would blow the whistle.
On Tuesday, these two ministers and agriculture minister Senzeni Zokwana met Gaspard to try to save its benefits. But official sources said the meeting was likely to be too late to prevent Obama suspending the Agoa duty-free access.
If Obama does announce the suspension it will come into effect immediately, affecting also exports already on the water.
But US officials have also said that if the meat disputes are resolved after the suspension, South Africa’s Agoa benefits would immediately be restored.
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