News
2024 AGOA Forum: Resources page
Beyond 2025: Reimagining AGOA for an Inclusive, Sustainable and Prosperous Tomorrow
The 21st U.S.–sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (AGOA Forum) is being hosted by Ambassador Katherine Tai in Washington, D.C. from 24-26 July 2024.
According to Ambassador Tai, “AGOA has been the cornerstone of our [U.S.] economic partnership with sub-Saharan Africa for over twenty years… This Forum is an opportunity to discuss how we can make the program more effective, to address today’s challenges and deliver real benefits to more people across the continent.”
Over the course of the event, participants will engage in discussions on how the United States and sub-Saharan African partners can work together to make AGOA more transformative and ensure that the program can be an effective tool to drive inclusive, sustainable economic growth for more people and advance regional integration efforts. Programme and registration details to follow.
The AGOA Forum will bring together the governments of the United States and AGOA-eligible countries, as well as representatives from key regional economic organisations, civil society, labor, and the private sector. The 25-26 July Ministerial program will feature plenary sessions on the present and future of AGOA and U.S.–Africa trade and investment cooperation, as well as breakout sessions on various topics. It will be preceded on 24 July by a Private Sector Forum, and Civil Society and Organised Labor Forums.
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Visit AGOA.info for registration details and other important links.
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See also our special edition tralac Newsletter: AGOA Forum 2024, where we review recent developments related to the expected renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act
Selected News
South African Trade Minister Parks Tau urges US to extend Agoa to help Africa industrialise - Daily Maverick
GNU gives SA a honeymoon period for keeping its Agoa status, say analysts - Daily Maverick
Rosa Whitaker: ‘America can’t be first if we keep putting Africa last’ - IB Times
Testimony of Florizelle Liser at the Hearing on the African Growth & Opportunity Act - Corporate Council on Africa
South Africa to push back against US review - BusinessTech
SA grapples with AGOA compliance concerns - Farmer’s Weekly
Revising the African Growth and Opportunity Act: Perspectives from Africa - Stimson Center
Explainer: Looming AGOA expiry puts US apparel buyers off - Just Style
South Africa continues to push for long extension to Agoa well ahead of 2025 expiry - Engineering News
Risch, Coons Introduce Legislation to Renew Trade Partnership Between U.S. and Sub-Saharan African Countries - US Foreign Relations Committee
AAFA rally behind 16-year AGOA extension to sustain US, African trade stability - Just Style
Statements
Remarks by Ambassador Katherine Tai at the 2024 AGOA Private Sector Forum (USTR)
“When I say that AGOA is the cornerstone of our economic partnership, I don’t mean it in the abstract – it has positively touched so many people’s lives already. And it has the potential to do so much more. Especially during a time when more people are feeling an increased sense of economic insecurity, our trade tools must be used to democratise economic opportunity for more people – they must be used for building out the common good.
“In the midst of uncertainty that we are all experiencing in our economies and in the global economy today, what must remain constant is what we stand for, what our values are.
“Because our economies are more than just a set of statistics. Our economies are made of people, so our economic policies, including and maybe especially our trade policies, we know must serve our people. This is foundational for the Biden-Harris Administration and it’s foundational for AGOA itself.
“The AGOA Forum this week is important and timely, because we have an opportunity to make it even better and more effective.
“We can do more to improve utilisation rates, especially for the smaller and developing countries on the continent. 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. Private enterprise – which is all of you here today – you have an incredibly important role to play to realize these goals.”
Secretary Antony J. Blinken At the AGOA Private Sector Forum, July 24, 2024 (United States Department of State)
“As we approach the renewal deadline next year, President Biden and our entire government fully support reauthorising AGOA, and we’ll continue working with our colleagues in Congress to make that happen.
“We’re also focused on modernising AGOA, to reflect how our countries and our economies and international markets have evolved since the law was first passed. We see value in an AGOA that is agile, that’s adaptable, that’s capable of driving trade forward in a dynamic environment. 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.
“In all of this, the private sector is the essential partner. We can’t deliver for our people on issues that matter most without your talent, without your innovation, without your investment. That’s why, at the Africa Leaders Summit, we committed to growing our collaboration with the private sector – through, but also beyond, AGOA.”
Statement from President Joe Biden on the AGOA Forum in Washington, DC, July 23, 2024 (The White House)
“I call on Congress to quickly reauthorise and modernise this landmark Act – which is set to expire in 2025. For more than two decades, the bipartisan African Growth and Opportunity Act has formed the bedrock of America’s economic partnership with African nations. 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.
“As I’ve said before, America is all in on Africa. This week – and in the weeks to come – let’s prove it. And together, let’s ensure future generations of Americans and Africans can meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the decades ahead.”
Testimony of Florizelle Liser at the Hearing on the African Growth & Opportunity Act, July 10, 2024 (Corporate Council on Africa)
“As AGOA’s current authorisation nears its expiration in 2025, I would encourage the Committee to take account of AGOA’s importance in the overall U.S.-Africa strategic relationship, and would offer four main points for your consideration today.
“The first is about the broader context in which today’s discussion of AGOA renewal takes place. Africa in 2024 is very different than the Africa of 2000, when AGOA first went into effect. Through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), African countries are creating a much more harmonised and unified market by reducing and removing both tariffs and non-tariff barriers. This is making it much more commercially feasible for African companies and others sourcing from Africa (like the United States) to create the networks and regional value chains that will make African suppliers more competitive and diversify out of China, while also expanding intra-African trade as well as the continent’s trade with global partners like the United States.”
tralac Publications
The ‘AGOA Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024’: Key features, proposed changes, and implications - Eckart Naumann
In November 2023, following the conclusion of the annual AGOA Forum in South Africa, US Senator Chris Coons (Democrat - Delaware) circulated a first discussion draft of legislation to extend the term of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beyond its current sunset clause in 2025, and to modify several provisions. While this was not the first congressional proposal to address the pending AGOA expiry, it was the first that was of significant substance.
On 11 April 2024, Senator Coons, along with 6 co-sponsors (split between Republicans and Democrats), formally introduced the “AGOA Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024”. This Senate Bill contains several changes and updates to the previous discussion draft, and adds substantive detail, while retaining the new expiry date that would see AGOA extended to the year 2041. This 16-year renewal period is similar in length to what was previously agreed under the USMCA Free Trade Agreement.
This Trade Brief provides an overview of the key details of the AGOA renewal legislation as introduced in the Senate, along with additional explanations and implications, and a short overview of the legislative process involved in passing this legislation.
pdf AGOA Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024: Sens Chris Coons & James Risch | Summary (110 KB)
Proposal on an early AGOA renewal alongside options to enhance the legislation and broaden its future impact - Eckart Naumann
This proposal recommends an early renewal of the AGOA legislation and offers several options in support of enhancements to the legislation, to make it more impactful and supportive of achieving higher AGOA preference utilisation rates.
A Guide to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for US Companies - tralac
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement is at the heart of several coordinated projects designed to fundamentally reshape Africa’s economy, creating a more highly integrated, more competitive, and more industrialised continent, better able to provide jobs and prosperity as its population doubles. Combined with shifts in global supply chains, these developments will create significant new trade and investment opportunities for U.S. and African firms.
Resources
pdf 2024 Biennial Report on Implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (985 KB) - Office of the United States Trade Representative
“AGOA has helped to grow Africa’s extraordinary economic potential and has made a difference for many Africans, but we have an opportunity to make it even better,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “A lot has changed on the continent and in the global economy over the last two decades. This Report provides a starting point for the Administration, Congress, our African partners, and stakeholders to examine how we can improve utilisation rates for smaller economies and make the program more effective and relevant to today’s challenges — like growing inequality, supply chain fragility, and the climate crisis.”
Since it was signed into law in May 2000, AGOA has played a critical role in the United States’ trade relationship with sub-Saharan Africa, including by fostering economic growth and development on the continent and encouraging African-led solutions to economic and political reforms. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to partnering with Africa to amplify the continent’s vibrancy and potential, and to shape a forward-looking vision for the U.S.-Africa trade and investment relationship.
In 2023, US imports under AGOA (including the Generalised System of Preferences program, which remains available for AGOA beneficiaries) totalled $9.7 billion. This consisted of approximately $4.2 billion in crude oil and $5.5 billion in other products, including $1.1 billion in apparel and more than $900 million in agricultural products. Last year, African countries eligible for AGOA leveraged the program’s preferences to export nearly $10 billion in goods to the United States.
Other resources
pdf In Focus: African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) (423 KB) - Congressional Research Service, 17 July 2024
pdf The President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA): Recommendations Report (551 KB) - 13 April 2023
