South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for a substantial lengthening of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), arguing that a longer extension would help to entice investors to pour more resources into the African continent.
AGOA is a US trade program that provides preferential access to the US market for goods from eligible sub-Saharan African countries. The current AGOA authorization expires in 2025.
Speaking at the opening of the AGOA Forum in Johannesburg on Friday, Ramaphosa said that a longer extension of AGOA would provide investors with the certainty they need to invest and grow their businesses in Africa.
“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,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa noted that African countries have made significant progress under AGOA, but there is still room for more growth.
“The data show that the programme has substantially improved the export competitiveness of certain African products, especially textiles and apparel,” Ramaphosa said. “Other parts of manufacturing have also seen success under AGOA.”
Ramaphosa also emphasized the importance of trade to Africa’s development.
“Trading is part of our DNA; it is in our blood,” Ramaphosa said. “As the continent continues to modernize its trading, it is moving away from being a supplier of raw materials to a producer of ready-made consumer products.”
Ramaphosa also expressed concern about the negative effects that trade restrictions on products like steel, aluminum, and citrus fruit have on AGOA utilization rates.
“We hope that the discussions at this forum will help lay the basis for these to be addressed in future,” Ramaphosa said.
The President also said that more targeted efforts to promote greater levels of investment can help to unlock AGOA’s opportunities.
The AGOA Forum is a two-day event that brings together government officials, business leaders, and civil society organizations from the United States and sub-Saharan Africa to discuss ways to expand trade and investment relations between the two regions.
