US businesses issues ultimatum to Biden over trade agreement with Africa (AGOA)
US businesses demand certainty from President Biden over the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
US businesses demand certainty from President Biden over the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
During a conference with African trade ministers in Johannesburg, South Africa, representatives of US businesses stated that this was a crucial aspect of their investment and planning.
The officials stated that US-owned companies were facing a dilemma on whether to lessen their reliance on China or make significant investments in Africa as a result of the AGOA renewal delays.
“American businesses want AGOA reauthorised. Regardless of sector, they’ve made that very clear,” British Robinson, who heads the U.S. administration’s Prosper Africa Initiative stated as quoted by Reuters.
However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to their demands stating that it was not immediately possible to give such confidence.
He informed US companies that the Biden administration was closely collaborating with Congress to guarantee that the AGOA issue was taken care of.
Although AGOA is scheduled to expire in September 2025, the Biden administration is seeking modifications to the current agreement.
“We do not just want to extend AGOA, we want to work with the United States Congress to make it even better,” Blinken revealed.
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Despite Blinken’s sentiments, US businesses want the renewal of the trade agreement to be done promptly even without adjustments to assure certainty of their investments.
This has been backed by African countries who argue that too many changes could bog renewal down in Congress.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai while acknowledging concerns raised by Africa through its trade ministers remarked that the long process was meant to come up with a more useful and effective trade programme.
“We would like to see this programme be more than just a symbolic one. We would like for it to be more useful and effective,” Tai explained.
AGOA was effected in 2000 and grants exports from qualifying African countries duty-free access to the United States market.
Kenya is one of the United States’ most important African trading partners, and for two decades has benefited from the AGOA trade agreement.
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