From our special correspondent in Gaborone
L’Agoa, this law signed in 2000, had until then been one of the cornerstones of the United States’ commercial strategy to open its market to some forty African countries. It allows eligible African countries to export certain products to the United States without customs duties and the continent has benefited from it to the tune of 10 billion euros in exports over the year 2022. For the President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, who hosted this United States / Africa business summit in his capital, it is imperative that this law be extended.
« We very seriously want the Biden administration to renew AGOA. A renewal now, with a longer mandate, would send a strong signal and bring confidence to the markets. It would also serve as a catalyst for Africa’s industrialization and inclusion in global value chains. »
Five countries benefit greatly from AGOA
But the program also has its critics. Since its inception, it has only benefited a small number of products, primarily crude oil exports. For other goods, until 2021, five countries – South Africa, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar and Ethiopia – accounted for more than three-quarters of exports made through this regime, in particular thanks to the already well-developed textile and automotive sectors.
Osvaldo Gómez Martínez, Assistant for African Affairs at the U.S. Bureau of Commerce, agrees there is a need for change: “ AGOA has been at the heart of our economic relationship, between the United States and Africa, and that remains true. But the world has changed, we have all changed in 20 years. And even if there are important, very dynamic conversations around the future, AGOA is not the only tool of our trade policy, in order to improve and strengthen our economic partnerships United States / Africa.. »
Some African exports can, moreover, already benefit from the generalized system of preferences, without going through AGOA. The law also appears as a means of commercial pressure, to facilitate the access of American products to the continent. And the decision, each year, to renew or not the eligibility of countries, does not create a stable environment to invest, as the Atlantic Council regrets, in a new report. The former French Secretary of State, Rama Yade, is the Africa director of this think tank:
« The main criticism, compared to the Agoa, was that it could be used as a political tool. Sometimes it can be justified: last year, Ethiopia was excluded from the benefits of Agoa, how to continue to trade while ignoring the thousands of deaths, rapes, war crimes? In other cases, maybe less, this is what some Africans say. »
The emergence of bilateral partnerships and the development of the African Free Trade Area (Zlecaf) could also contribute to transforming the American program.
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2023-07-23 22:15:00
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