Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau said the US Congress has assured that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) will be re-authorised and that South Africa’s exclusion was not on the cards.
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau said on Tuesday that the US Congress has assured that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) will be re-authorised and that South Africa’s exclusion was not on the cards.
Tau said the issue now was whether Agoa would be authorised before or after the US election in November.
Agoa provides duty-free access to the US market for almost all products exported from more than 40 eligible countries in Africa.
Briefing the media following South Africa’s delegation to the Agoa Forum in Washington, Tau said their key message was to reset and create partnerships with an emphasis on industrialisation, building a capable state and job creation.
He said they presented proposals on the extension of Agoa for stability, improved rules of origin and adjustments to the eligibility review process to preserve regional value chains and enhance Africa’s manufacturing capabilities.
“We received a strong bipartisan backing from the US Congress, and our colleagues in the US administration for the re-authorisation of Agoa.
“The mutually beneficial economic and trade partnership is highlighted by the more than 600 US businesses (in) operation in South Africa and with over 1.3 million jobs created in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said. Tau also said the election season in the US made the situation fluid in deciding on re-authorisation on Agoa and how the decision would 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 timelines,” he said.
The minister gave three possible scenarios for the re-authorisation of Agoa, which included the most ideal scenario of re-authorisation before the November elections, extension between the elections and inauguration and re-authorisation after inauguration.
“We pressed very hard to get to the ideal (scenario) and many people said ‘we will try and work toward getting it through’.
“So the situation is that there are no firm commitments.”
Tau also said they would in the meantime watch the process with a close eye and continue lobbying but explained that an initial bill that suggested South Africa’s exclusion had been amended.
Earlier this year, South Africa raised concerns about a bill introduced in the US Congress calling for the review of ties between Pretoria and Washington.
This was after Republican congressmen John James and Democratic representative Jared Moskowitz introduced a bill calling on US President Joe Biden to make an unclassified determination within 30 days of the act being enacted, if Pretoria has engaged in activities that undermine US national security or foreign policy interests.
Tau said South Africa was comfortable to respond to any questions raised, including trade-related matters.
“We indicated South Africa has consistently maintained a non-aligned position.
“Many of the parties that we engaged with said they respect the non-aligned position, however, they perceive South Africa might not in certain circumstances have articulated its non-aligned position in a manner demonstrable. It is a matter we said we are prepared to engage with to the extent that there might be concerns.”
Cape Times
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