United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai this week hosted the 2024 U.S.-sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (AGOA Forum) in Washington, D.C.
The AGOA Forum brought together senior government officials from the United States and 32 AGOA-eligible countries, as well as representatives from continental and regional economic organizations, labor, civil society, and the private sector.
Under the theme “Beyond 2025: Reimagining AGOA for an Inclusive, Sustainable and Prosperous Tomorrow,” participants discussed using AGOA to drive more inclusive and sustainable economic development and the further strengthening of U.S.-Africa economic relations.
During the AGOA Forum, Ambassador Tai facilitated a session with Members of Congress and African ministers on AGOA reauthorization. She also held bilateral meetings with representatives of the African Union, Ghana, Nigeria’, and South Africa.
Chief Agricultural Negotiator Ambassador Doug McKalip met with officials from Angola and Mauritius;
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for African Affairs Constance Hamilton met with Rwandan and Kenyan envoys.
AGOA Forum participants included trade ministers from 32 AGOA-eligible countries. The U.S. delegation included Members of Congress and professional staff from the United States Congress, and senior government officials
The African Growth and Opportunity Act trade preference program overall has been a success, but is “showing some age,” making its upcoming reauthorization the perfect opportunity to think about how to improve it, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said earlier this week..
“At the At the cusp of the expiration of this version of AGOA we need to dream big...and through that lens of aspiration and dreaming big, let our imaginations loose on how we can make it even better,” Ms. Tai commented at a White House event on the two-day annual AGOA forum, bringing sub-Saharan African ministers to Washington to discuss the program, which is set to expire in 2025
An analysis of AGOA prepared by the International Trade Commission provides some suggestions for how to improve AGOA, she said.
Those include improving utilization rates, promoting more value-added production, improved capacity building and updating the current eligibility requirements, including by adding environmental standards.
The next version of AGOA also needs to “lean into” the aspiration of African countries to obtain economic integration, she said.
In a statement released in advance of the forum, President Biden praised AGOA, saying that in sub-Saharan Africa “it has increased the competitiveness of African products, led to the creation of tens of thousands of quality jobs, and helped advance human rights. Here at home, AGOA has created investment opportunities and new markets for American businesses. And on both sides of the Atlantic, AGOA has promoted sustainable economic growth and resilient supply chains. “
The United States remains fully committed to reauthorizing and modernizing the African Growth and Opportunity Act before its current expiration, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Wednesday..
“As we approach the renewal deadline next year, President Biden and our entire government fully support reauthorizing AGOA, and we’ll continue working with our colleagues in Congress to make that happen,” he told a gathering of private sector officials at the opening of the annual AGOA Forum.
The Administration is looking to modernize AGOA to reflect how the US and African economies – and international markets – have evolved since the trade preferences program was first created. “We see value in an AGOA that is agile, that’s adaptable, that’s capable of driving trade forward in a dynamic environment,” he said. “Whether we’re trying to meet the challenges of the climate crisis, prepare for the next pandemic, respond to shifts in global demand, we want AGOA to be ready – ready to support the businesses and the economies of the future.”
Ambassador Tai said the AGOA forum creates the opportunity to discuss how to improve the program.
“We can do more to improve utilization rates, especially for the smaller and developing countries on the continent,” she said. “We can do more to make sure that the program is more responsive to more of today’s challenges – like supply chain fragility and the climate crisis. We can do more to bring more voices to the table, especially women, youth, smaller companies, and the African Diaspora – and actually incorporate their voices concretely into our work and into this next iteration of AGOA.”
Separately, members of the New Democrat Coalition issued a statement calling on Congressional leaders to make reauthorization and modernization of AGOA a priority.
“As we approach the expiration of AGOA in 2025, we risk uncertainty slowing the economic exchange between the U.S. and our African partners,” they said. “It is imperative that we signal our support for the program and commit to renewing it as quickly as possible. Africa has changed dramatically since the inception of AGOA, and our trade program must reflect that transformation to increase economic growth and drive more investment to both Africa and the United States.”
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