While addressing a press conference in Cape Town after his return from the 2024 Africa’s Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Washington DC, the minister of Trade, Industry and Competitions, Parks Tau was confident that the US will renew South Africa’s AGOA membership before its expiration in the next financial year. Tau has urged members of the Biden Administration to reconsider their stance regarding South Africa’s removal from the programme.
AGOA was passed as a part of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 in the USA. This Act gives 40 Sub-Saharan African countries and including South Africa a duty-free access to the USA for the exportation of approximately 7000products of which about 800 are agricultural. This was a moveto promote a free-market system and expand USA-African trade and investment relationships.
Some members of the US Congress who have the perception that South Africa has a strong relationship with US’s enemies such as Russia, China and Iran have threatened to see South Africa kicked out from AGOA. The legislation that was spearheaded by Republican Congress Representative John James and passed by the House of Representatives for South Africa’s exclusion had been withdrawn since there is no resolution yet for South Africa’s dismissal. More so, the legislation was not approved by the senate or signed by President Joe Biden.
After lobbying in the USA capital as a Government of National Unity with Tau coming the African National Congress (ANC) and his deputy minister Andrew Grant Whitfield from Democratic Alliance (DA) party, Tau believes that their joint effort to request for a prompt and long term AGOA renewal to provide certainty to investors will play a huge role into having a consideration. He is convinced that the USA will have a comprehensive review of the USA-SA trade and business relationship and hopefully reauthorise South Africa’s AGOA membership before the upcoming US elections in November because of the compliments he received from some top USA officials.
Tau says that South Africa is still favoured by both democrats and republicans. “We received bipartisan support for the reauthorisation of AGOA. We’re confident that AGOA would continue and that South Africa would stay in AGOA,” said Tau. He made this statement to provide assurance and answer the questions of those who worry about the differences between members of US congress and house of representatives. He will continue to engage with US officials regarding the revival of other trade and investment framework agreements between South Africa and USA.
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Written by: Sema Fonkem
Images: X/Parks Tau, Gallo Images / Luba Lesolle
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