Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - South Africa has asked the US to extend its legislation giving African countries access to American markets for a “reasonable” period, in order to promote investment here and elsewhere on the continent, said Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.
This law, known as America’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which has already once been extended, lapses in 2015. Qualifying African countries can export 7 000-odd products to the US free of tariffs or quotas.
There is a possibility than an amendment to Agoa would remove some of these concessions from South Africa because it is a middle-income country.
South Africa would then have to negotiate a trade agreement with the US to retain favourable market access, similar to that under Agoa.
Davies said South Africa wanted to avoid a situation where Agoa made a distinction between countries in the same region.
Davies and Demetrios Marantis, the US’s deputy trade representative for Africa and Asia, addressed the media in Johannesburg on Monday, following a meeting during which the upcoming Agoa Forum in Lusaka, Zambia, was discussed.
Various sectors of the South African economy had benefited from Agoa, said Marantis. While the domestic automobile, wine, minerals and fruit industries could avail themselves of the concessions to increase exports to the US, other countries had been less successful.
He said it was time to show those struggling countries how to benefit from Agoa as well.
The intention was to use the forum to reflect on what worked and what didn’t, so that Agoa’s objectives of economic growth and job-creation could be realised.
Davies said the planned massive free-trade zone arising from the merger of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the East African Community (EAC), was also discussed at the meeting.
This free-trade zone would consist of 29 countries with a total of 700m people. Regional integration was currently one of Africa’s fundamental challenges, he said.
The US is still one of South Africa’s most important trading partners. Although the value of local exports to the US fell from about R66bn in 2008 to R52bn last year, the US is still the second-biggest market for local exports.
The value of goods imported from the US fell from R60bn in 2008 to R42bn last year.
In contrast to the recession’s negative impact on the value of trade between South Africa and the US, the value of trade with the Brics countries actually rose during the recession, Davies said.
- Sake24.com
For business news in Afrikaans, go to www.sake24.com.
This law, known as America’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which has already once been extended, lapses in 2015. Qualifying African countries can export 7 000-odd products to the US free of tariffs or quotas.
There is a possibility than an amendment to Agoa would remove some of these concessions from South Africa because it is a middle-income country.
South Africa would then have to negotiate a trade agreement with the US to retain favourable market access, similar to that under Agoa.
Davies said South Africa wanted to avoid a situation where Agoa made a distinction between countries in the same region.
Davies and Demetrios Marantis, the US’s deputy trade representative for Africa and Asia, addressed the media in Johannesburg on Monday, following a meeting during which the upcoming Agoa Forum in Lusaka, Zambia, was discussed.
Various sectors of the South African economy had benefited from Agoa, said Marantis. While the domestic automobile, wine, minerals and fruit industries could avail themselves of the concessions to increase exports to the US, other countries had been less successful.
He said it was time to show those struggling countries how to benefit from Agoa as well.
The intention was to use the forum to reflect on what worked and what didn’t, so that Agoa’s objectives of economic growth and job-creation could be realised.
Davies said the planned massive free-trade zone arising from the merger of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the East African Community (EAC), was also discussed at the meeting.
This free-trade zone would consist of 29 countries with a total of 700m people. Regional integration was currently one of Africa’s fundamental challenges, he said.
The US is still one of South Africa’s most important trading partners. Although the value of local exports to the US fell from about R66bn in 2008 to R52bn last year, the US is still the second-biggest market for local exports.
The value of goods imported from the US fell from R60bn in 2008 to R42bn last year.
In contrast to the recession’s negative impact on the value of trade between South Africa and the US, the value of trade with the Brics countries actually rose during the recession, Davies said.
- Sake24.com
For business news in Afrikaans, go to www.sake24.com.
