Africa and The Middle East

The U.S. and Kenya last week held a “productive” second round of talks under their Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Wednesday. In a readout on the talks , held Oct. 4-7 in Washington, DC, the agency said the sides “exchanged views on proposed texts covering agriculture; anticorruption; and services domestic regulation.” The U.S. and Kenya “also continued their conceptual discussions on the subject of inclusivity in trade,” USTR added. The U.S...

The U.S. and Kenya on Wednesday will begin another round of negotiations under the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced on Tuesday, saying the talks will focus on agriculture, anti-corruption, inclusivity and domestic regulation of services. The round – the second so far – will take place Oct. 4-7 in Washington, DC, according to USTR’s announcement . The previous STIP negotiating round was held in Nairobi in April. USTR Katherine Tai also was...

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on Wednesday introduced a “clean” African Growth and Opportunity Act reauthorization bill that would extend the program for 20 years. Congress in 2015 extended the trade preference program by 10 years. Lawmakers from both parties have said they plan to renew AGOA ahead of the 2025 deadline, and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has said she supports AGOA renewal, with improvements. House Ways & Means trade subcommittee Chair Adrian Smith (R-NE) earlier this year told ...

South Africa has been cleared to host the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum in November, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and South Africa’s trade minister announced on Wednesday. Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition of South Africa Ebrahim Patel met with Tai to discuss the 20th U.S.-sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (AGOA Forum), now officially set for Johannesburg in early November. South Africa’s role as host – and even its status as an AGOA beneficiary –...

China, India, Brazil, Russia and South Africa this week blasted the “unilateral and discriminatory” trade-related measures being imposed by “some developed countries,” citing tax incentives in particular and arguing that any climate-based policies must be in line with World Trade Organization rules. Trade ministers from the group of five countries – known as BRICS – met earlier this week and agreed to statements on WTO reform, supply chains, the digital economy and small and medium-sized businesses, according to an informal...

The U.S. entertainment and technology industries are renewing a years-long fight over pending legislation on copyright law in South Africa as part of a U.S. review of the country’s eligibility under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The “Copyright Amendment Bill” and “Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill,” two proposals making their way through South Africa’s legislative process, sparked the fight between U.S. entertainment and tech interests during a review of South Africa’s eligibility under the Generalized System of Preferences initiated in...

A renewed African Growth and Opportunity Act should include revised income eligibility requirements, including a process that would allow a beneficiary country to negotiate a free trade agreement with the U.S. before graduating out of the program, the Mauritian ambassador to the U.S. said this week. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Monday held its annual AGOA eligibility review hearing , where witnesses from U.S. businesses and representatives from African governments largely testified in favor of extending the...

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is “partnering robustly” with lawmakers in “teeing up” a process for Congress to consider whether and how to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act, USTR Katherine Tai said in Kenya this week. In a Thursday interview with CNBC Africa , Tai outlined the Biden administration’s trade engagements with Kenya, East African trading partners and Africa writ large. During her trip to Nairobi this week, Tai co-led a meeting of the U.S.-East African...