Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, Ebrahim Patel, has thrown his weight behind the swift reauthorisation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), albeit with refinements that do not require lengthy discussions.
Patel made the remarks at 20th AGOA Forum held at Nasrec in Johannesburg in November.
“One idea that's come up from the discussions is whether we should consider a two-stage programme. But the first stage firmly focused on reauthorisation as rapidly as possible, maybe with a modest package of refinements that does not require lengthy discussions.
“The second stage with further and perhaps deeper improvements that require more time and further study, and that can be done fairly shortly thereafter. We are particularly keen to get the reauthorisation in the earliest part of 2024, so this will be very helpful.
“These are ideas that we want our friends in the United States to think through and consider. We are also reflecting a little bit on these weighing up the pros and cons,” the Minister said.
AGOA is a unilateral trade preference scheme that provides qualifying sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free, quota-free access into the United States market.
Patel emphasised that there were policy areas that need to be relooked, adding that polishing existing policies would make room for more African products to make it to the international market.
“Those colleagues who’ve been enjoying our fruits, SA citrus fruit from the region, which can be available in larger quantities, we can resolve those things. Matters we constructively engage in, for example relating to steel and aluminium, these are practical solutions we believe can unlock the value of trade. In different parts of the continent, in West Africa, there are constraints in accessing the American market. In East Africa, there are different products we need to refine.”
Patel highlighted that the discussions also looked at the idea of small businesses to small business partnership between the African continent and the United States.
“We recognise we need to balance the level of our ambition on extending the product list against the concerns about the time that may be required to reach consensus in Congress on these factors. While we would obviously prefer as much as possible, we want to avoid such a broad review that we delay reauthorisation,” he said.
Mineral beneficiation on the African continent was also under the spotlight.
Addressing the Summit, President Cyril Ramaphosa said an extension of AGOA to 20 years could act as an instrument to entice investors to pour more resources into African.
“We would like you to look at the extension or renewal of AGOA for a sufficiently lengthy period for it to act as an incentive for investors to build new factories on the African continent,” said the President. - SAnews.gov.za
Email
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp