US Africa Trade Profile

The United States is Africa’s largest single country market, purchasing 28.4 percent of the continents exports in 2007.  Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for slightly more than one percent of U.S. merchandise exports, and slightly more than three percent of U.S. merchandise imports, of which about 81 percent are petroleum products.

However, the U.S. has a merchandise trade deficit with Sub-Saharan Africa and the deficit continued to widen in 2008 to $67.5 billion, from $53.0 billion in 2007.  Nigeria, Angola, the Republic of Congo, South Africa, Chad, and Equatorial Guinea accounted for 97.2 percent of the U.S. trade deficit with Sub-Saharan Africa in 2008.  Other leading AGOA (see AGOA Extension Act 2015) beneficiaries include Gabon, Cameroon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Kenya, Swaziland, and Mauritius.

Predictably, petroleum products continued to account for the largest portion of AGOA imports by the US with a 92.3 percent share of overall AGOA imports. With fuel products excluded, AGOA imports were $5.1 billion, increasing by 51.2 percent. Much of this non-energy product increase was due to a 224.8 percent increase in imports of AGOA transportation equipment, virtually all from South Africa.

AGOA minerals and metals imports by the US also increased by 58.8 percent and AGOA chemical and related products by 38.7 percent.  Meanwhile, AGOA textiles and apparel imports declined by 10.4 percent and AGOA agricultural products by 7.9 percent.

The good news however is that  U.S. imports under AGOA are becoming increasingly diversified. Some of the more significant products include: jewelry and jewelry parts; fruit and nut products; fruit juices; leather products; plastic products; and cocoa paste.