The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that President Joe Biden will work with Congress to not only renew the United States’ flagship duty-free trade programme with Africa but also make some improvements to it.
Blinken revealed this at the opening of the US-Africa summit in Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday.
The trade program also known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) grants qualifying African countries duty-free access to the United States, the world’s largest consumer market.
First launched in 2000 during President Bill Clinton’s administration, the initiative has been renewed twice, further deepening the trade ties between African countries and the US.
According to Blinken, the US President is working with Congress to ensure that certain adjustments are added to the program for improvement.
Even though the initiative is due to expire in September 2025, African countries are pushing for an early 10-year extension without changes to reassure businesses and investors.
Accordingly, AGOA is currently in the spotlight in the U.S. Senate, with efforts underway to ensure its swift renewal, and President Biden is firmly behind the initiative’s reauthorization.
“But we don’t just want to extend AGOA, we want to work with the United States Congress to make it even better,” Blinken said in a video message to U.S. officials and African trade ministers meeting in Johannesburg to discuss AGOA’s future.
What Africa is Saying
Speaking at the opening of the summit, the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa stated that such an economic move can help industrialize the continent as well as provide incentives for growth in areas of solid mineral resources.
- “Africa is an important source of critical raw materials, but we do not want to be defined as simply the producers of commodities.
- “We look forward to the United States working with African countries to foster an investment-led approach that aims to diversify international supply chains of critical minerals by beneficiating these resources here on the African continent,
- “We would like you to look at an extension of AGOA for a sufficiently lengthy period to act as an incentive for investors to build factories,” Mr. Ramaphosa said.
In terms of natural resources, Africa is the most abundant continent on earth. It has 40% of the world’s gold, according to the UN, and the largest reserves of cobalt, uranium, platinum and diamonds.
However, several countries face high levels of poverty and inequality.
African countries therefore are advocating for greater flexibility in eligibility criteria and a reduction in the current annual review of those criteria.
More Insights
Earlier, the Biden administration revealed on October 30 its plans to cease the participation of Gabon, Niger, Uganda, and the Central African Republic in AGOA, citing issues related to governance and human rights.
The trade minister of Uganda, Harriet Ntabazi, commented on her country’s suspension due to “gross violations” of internationally recognized human rights, advocating for a distinction between trade and these issues.
- “Mistakes are human. If they have been done, reconsider and we go into negotiations. We’ve never had this chance to sit together and agree. Give us another chance,” Ntabazi said.
Ugandan government officials have linked their exclusion to an anti-homosexuality law that was passed by its parliament in May.
