The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Parks Tau, on Friday concluded his visit to the US where he led a high-level delegation to participate in the 21st African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) Forum.
With Agoa expiring in 14 months, the African Ministers of Trade urged the Biden Administration and the Members of US Congress, for expeditious renewal of Agoa with non-controversial enhancements and amendments for a minimum of 16 years to provide the required predictability and certainty to buyers, exporters, and investors.
They called for the renewal of Agoa to be concluded by the end of 2024.
Tau said there was agreement to promote stronger and closer investment relations to complement Agoa and change the structure of Africa’s trade towards value-added exports.
“We welcome the support expressed by both the Biden Administration and Members of Congress for the renewal of Agoa,” Tau said.
Agoa gives eligible sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the US market for most products without having to reciprocate.
It allows more than 30 African countries to export 1 835 types of goods to the US consumer market, and in turn affords the US access to critical minerals, product value chains, and investment opportunities in Africa.
The Agoa Forum also highlighted the critical role that South Africa plays in the development of regional value chains on the African continent in a number of sectors, including the auto sector.
US Trade Representative, Ambassador Katherine Tai, said they see Agoa’s success to date, and also its potential for a new era.
Tai reminded delegates of how fragile supply chains can be, especially during and coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“That is why the Biden-Harris Administration not only supports the reauthorization of Agoa, but also the strengthening and improving of it to fit the times. This Forum is an opportunity for us to discuss this together,” she said.
“We must be candid about areas where Agoa can be improved – like raising utilisation rates, especially among developing countries. Let us also discuss how we can make our supply chains more resilient, not only to withstand future shocks, but also to reflect our shared values.”
The South African delegation held extensive engagements with members of the US Congress and House of Representative, US Administration, US private sector and think tanks.
The engagements focused on sharing information on the political developments in South Africa, in particular the establishment of the Government of National Unity.
“We welcome the warm reception, as well as productive and constructive discussions we had with Members of Congress across the aisle and with the US Administration,” Tau said.
“There was a lot of interest in the GNU and its priorities, including efforts to deepen and enhance bilateral relations with the US.”
The delegation also used the engagements to advocate for the early reauthorisation of Agoa, including exploring enhancements that facilitate greater utilisation and create the necessary policy stability to promote private sector investment and African exports into the US.
There was broad support for strengthening bilateral trade and investment relations between South Africa and the US.
“We welcome the positive discussions with the US Trade Representative, Ambassador Tai and the agreement by both sides to resuscitate the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) at a Ministerial level, that last met in 2014,” Tau said.
“We instructed our officials to prepare for our first meeting which will provide a good platform for constructive discussions and effective resolution of trade related matters from both sides. The resuscitation of the TIFA provides new impetus to our strategic partnership.“
The dtic said the US remained South Africa’s strategic trading partner and South Africa is the largest non-oil Sub-Saharan Africa exporting partner to the US and through Agoa has been able to boost both agriculture and value-added exports, thus creating much-needed jobs for South Africans.
The Agoa Forum is held on an alternate basis between Africa and the US. The 2025 Agoa Forum will be held in the Democratic Republic of Congo.