Africa and The Middle East

The U.S. must “dream big” as it considers proposals to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act, focusing on how a successor program can boost intra-Africa trade and ensure greater environmental protections, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Tuesday ahead of the annual AGOA Forum. The forum, set for July 25-26 in Washington, DC, has been given a theme focused on what might follow AGOA’s expiration next year – “Beyond 2025: Reimagining AGOA for an inclusive, sustainable and prosperous...

Editor’s note: A Commerce Department official told Inside U.S. Trade in an email on Friday morning that the upcoming meeting has been postponed until after the AGOA Forum . The meeting likely will be held “sometime in the next three weeks,” the official said. A council of private-sector representatives that advises the president on commercial engagement between the U.S. and African countries is set to meet to discuss recommendations for reauthorizing and updating the African Growth and Opportunity Act...

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s latest report on African Growth and Opportunity Act implementation can be a “starting point” for reauthorization discussions as the program is set to lapse next year, USTR Katherine Tai said on Friday. USTR’s 2024 biennial report on AGOA implementation comes amid a push from lawmakers and African governments to reauthorize AGOA ahead of its 2025 expiration date. Lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate, as well as Biden administration officials, have...

U.S. officials this week heard from a broad range of stakeholders on the African Growth and Opportunity Act as the Biden administration weighs countries’ eligibility for 2025, with some representatives pushing for inclusion and others for immediate reauthorization. In particular, a handful of witnesses at the June 27 hearing on eligibility argued that Uganda and Somalia can make greater progress toward human rights if they are folded into the program. Uganda lost its benefits at the start of this year...

Ethiopia and Uganda are re-upping calls to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to reinstate their trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, while Somalia is requesting first-time access to the program as part of the agency’s annual review of AGOA country eligibility. Representatives for several sub-Saharan African countries, as well as major U.S. industry groups and other stakeholders, outlined their priorities for the review in comments to the AGOA Implementation Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff...

Prospects for renewing the African Growth and Opportunity Act are looking up despite some broader headwinds on trade legislation, according to Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), who says lawmakers must not let “other fights” get in the way of reauthorizing the trade preference program by the end of this year. During an event at the Wilson Center, Coons described prospects for AGOA’s renewal as “positive” following recent hearings on Capitol Hill as well as a discussion earlier on Tuesday with Senate...