Ten years after the enactment of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a coalition of its original architects and supporters have unveiled a comprehensive and ambitious new trade and economic policy to be presented to the Obama Administration, that would build on AGOA’s successes and expand the growing trade relationship between Africa and the United States.
The new policy proposal, entitled Enterprise for Development: A New Policy Approach Toward Africa, calls for the continuation of AGOA’s exclusive duty- and quota-free access to the US market for African goods, as well as policies to strengthen and grow indigenous enterprises in Africa and measures that support job creation, export promotion and prosperity in both the US and Africa.
The main policy proposals include efforts to:
a) Expand and protect AGOA and make it permanent
b) Develop tax incentives and credits for US investors in Africa
c) Support regional integration through AGOA
d) De-link AGOA from the WTO Doha Round
e) Partner to revitalise Africa's agricultural sector
f) Make US aid smart and effective
g) Expand and reform the Millennium Challenge Corporation
h) Increase funding for US exports to Africa
i) Increase support for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
The proposals recognise that the private sector is pivotal to the expansion of trade and investment and that efforts to support the US private sector as well could increase investment in Africa.
Additional information on this development can be found here
No comments:
Post a Comment