SA calls for extension of Agoa

Any attempt by the US
congress to stop, or seriously
limit, the African Growth
and Opportunity (Agoa)
policy, would blast African
export trade out of the water,
according to Andre Erasmus,
senior manager at Deloitte,
the customs, trade and finance
consultants.
“Removing it would be
an extremely hard blow for
beneficiary countries,” he said
– while stressing that there was
no indication as yet that the
Obama government would take
such a step.
This follows an
announcement by SA trade and
industry minister Rob Davies
that the SA government had
put forward a proposal to the
US government to roll over
Agoa “for a reasonable period
of time” – due as it is to come
to an end in 2015.
In its current form, Agoa
allows for the duty- and quotafree
entry into the US of about
7 000 product lines from 37
sub-Saharan countries which
qualify for Agoa-membership.
“The agricultural, motor and
textile/clothing industries have
been the prime beneficiaries of
this export-stimulating policy,”
said Erasmus.
“And it has not only
benefited these as primary
industries, but also encouraged
a lot of value-added secondary
processing – like textiles
to clothing, and producing
processed foods and canning.”
From an SA point of view
the main thrust has been
on the motor industry, with
automotive exports to the US
totalling US$2-billion in 2008,
although falling back by
about 30% due to the global
recession last year.
Davies recognised
this, saying that Agoa
had contributed vital
encouragement to SA’s
automotive industry exports –
and problems would arise
if the US congress should
make any “big departures”
from the current Agoa
programme.