Minister unpacks ‘fluid’ Agoa negotiations

Trade, Industry & Competition Minister Parks Tau last week said SA has received significant support from the US Congress for the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Tau and his deputy Andrew Whitfield noted that SA has received strong bipartisan support from both the Republican and Democratic parties in the US, despite earlier calls for the country’s exclusion due to its non-aligned stance on the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The Citizen reports that he assured the public that there has been no resolution by the US Congress suggesting that SA be cut off from the Agoa agreement. ‘The manually beneficial economic and trade partnership is highlighted by the more than 600 US businesses operating in SA, with over 1.3m jobs create in sub-Saharan Africa,’ Tau noted. He said the SA delegation presented several proposals at the forum, including the extension of the programme for stability and enhancing Africa’s manufacturing capabilities. Tau further indicated that the outcome of the US election, set for November this year, was unlikely to affect Congress’ decision on Agoa. ‘We would appreciate that the US is in an election season, which makes the situation quite fluid in the processes of decision-making and how those decisions will be made. There is general agreement that there should be speedy re-authorisation. However, none of the parties we engaged with could give us a certain date on the timelines.’