USTR Says AGOA Should Be Improved
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, speaking at a virtual trade ministers meeting of African Growth and Opportunity Act participants, said that while AGOA improved the export competitiveness of many African products and fostered regional integration, its utilization of it has been limited. She said at the Oct. 20 meeting: "Despite these successes, only a handful of countries have taken significant advantage of AGOA.
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"In fact, outside of the oil sector, imports under AGOA have grown modestly over the life of the program. While Sub-Saharan Africa’s non-oil exports to the United States have grown over the last 20 years, the region’s market share of U.S. non-oil imports has only increased by one-tenth of one percent.
"As we consider AGOA’s future, we must ask ourselves what improvements we can make to attract more investment and help small and women-owned businesses find new markets for their products and compete in the global economy." Tai said AGOA cannot be the only way to create a durable trade and investment relationship between the U.S. and Africa, and said that the U.S. will help to build capacity to implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.