AGOA – African Growth and Opportunity Act: Looking Back, Looking Forward
The Annual AGOA Civil Society Forum was hosted in Washington, DC from June 11-15, 2012. As a member of the organizing committee, ADC’s President got a first hand look at what kind of impact this legislation has made since it was enacted in 2000. Up for renewal in 2015, there has been debate about AGOA’s effectiveness in its current form.
Read on for an excerpt from a report from the Brookings Institute and let us know your thoughts on this milestone US-Africa Trade legislation.
- In 2011, 11 years afterGOA was enacted, the number of countries exporting non-petroleum products to the US had expanded to 22, more than half of those eligible.South Africa, has remained a major AGOA exporter. Maurituis, Lesotho, Swaziland and Kenya exported the Alargest percentage of apparel and textiles to the US.
- US smaller suppliers of apparel products were Botswana ($15.5 million), Malawi ($13.5 million), Ethiopia ($10.00 million), South Africa ($6.1 million),Tanzania ($5.2 million) and Ghana ($1.3 million)
- One direct benefit and result of the AGOA legislation has been job-creation. Many of these jobs are also held by women, which is important given that African women are more likely to invest job-related income in the welfare of their families. It is apparent that AGOA has led to job creation in those countries that have taken advantage of non-energy exports, especially apparel and textile products.
- Although the US Commerce Department has pulled back from Africa, the US Export-Import Bank has become increasingly aggressive in promoting US trade with tincreasm $412 million to $1,3ed fro92 billion, a record level for the agency.
For more information he region. Between 2009-2011, the value of transactions supported by Ex-Im about the AGOA: http://www.state.gov/p/af/rt/agoa/index.htm
For more information on the AGOA Forum 2012: http://www.state.gov/p/af/rt/agoa/2012/index.htm