Written by Ben Kangwa
In 2010, Zambia took
over the Chairmanship of the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the
Zambian Ambassador to the United States,
Mrs. Sheila Siwela was appointed Co-Chair of the Economic Development Committee
of the African Diplomatic Corps in Washington DC, teaming up with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Amb David Rantekoa as the other
Co-Chair.
The major responsibilities of the Co-Chairs were to engage the US
government and Congress on the improvement and review of AGOA trade preferences
on behalf of and for the benefit of all AGOA eligible countries.
Initially, AGOA was set to expire in 2008. In 2004, the United States
Congress passed the AGOA Acceleration Act which extended AGOA to 2015.
There are currently ongoing consultations in the US Congress and among
the African Diplomatic Corps in Washington
DC regarding reforms to trade
preferences and as to what happens to AGOA after 2015.
In June 2011, Zambia
successfully hosted the fifth AGOA conference after Kenya,
Ghana, Senegal and Mauritius.
The recommendations that emerged from that meeting and specifically
during the African Ministerial Consultative group were, one, the need for AGOA
eligible countries to speak with one voice in urging the US to extend
AGOA beyond 2015.
Two, to urge the US
for the Third Country Fabric provision to run concurrently with AGOA after it
expires in 2012.
Three, a call to the US
to priotise capacity building especially in infrastructure development,
sanitary and physio-sanitary laboratories and private sector support to enable
African countries take advantage of the market access AGOA offers
Four, to urge the US to consider relaxing its restrictive rules of
origin in order to promote diversification of exports into the US, especially
for agricultural products and lastly request US support towards Africa’s
regional integration efforts through development of value chains.
To push this agenda forward, the African Partnership For Economic Growth
Caucus (APEG) co-Chaired by the Honorable Bobby L. Rush, the Ranking Member of
the Energy and Power House Sub-Committee of the Energy and Commerce Committee
and the Honorable Donald M Payne, the Ranking Member of House Sub-Committee on
Africa, Global Health and Human Rights, held the first ever Quarterly Meeting
with the African Diplomatic Corps to launch a Working Group on Trade and
Investment In Africa. The theme was “Making the US-Africa Partnership a
Reality.”
APEG was created by Congressmen Bobby Rush and Donald Payne to foster
stronger commercial and economic ties between the US
private sector and Africa. The primary
objective of APEG is to promote bilateral private sector development that will
increase export, investment and economic growth for large and small US and
African firms.
It is dedicated to educating Members of Congress on issues affecting the
commercial and economic relations between the US and African countries.
This particular meeting was
chaired by Director of the Wilson Center’s Africa Program and Project Steve
McDonald while former Ambassador, former
Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa who is also co-Chair of the AGOA
Action Coalition, Rosa Whitaker of the Whitaker Group served as moderator.
Others who participated included South Africa Ambassador to the United States of America, Ebrahim Rassol, the Ambassador of the Republic of Mauritius,
Somduth Soborum, Cote D’Ivoire Ambassador, Daouda
Diabate.
From the American Private Sector was Ms Karen Tandy from Motorola
Solutions (MS), Del Renigar from General
Electric (GE) and Wanda Felton from Export-Import Bank (EIB) of America.
During the discussion overview, most participants agreed that AGOA had
produced impressive results in 2010, but however, as AGOA comes up for renewal
in 2012, the discussion had shifted towards an analysis of how a “languishing”
American business community could better leverage the engines of trade and
investment in Africa in order to create jobs at home and benefit American
economic interests.
It was also observed that AGOA eligible countries needed to speak in a
uniform voice to urge the US
to expand the legislation, to prioritize infrastructure and to focus on
regional integration.
Ambassador Sheila Siwela in her remarks, stated that “the meeting
signaled the beginning of a historical true partnership between Africa and the USA.”
She paid gratitude towards the US
for the favourable responses and commitment from Secretary of State, Hillary
Clinton and the US Trade Representative Ron Kirk during the AGOA Forum where
they pledged support towards the extension of AGOA preferences and the Third Country
Fabric provision beyond their current life spans.
She emphasized the urgent need for the extensions in order to sustain
investor confidence which she said “is prone to falter as the expiration date
nears.” More importantly, she concluded by noting “the need to ensure that
thousands of jobs that directly or indirectly depend on these provisions were
not lost.”
Meanwhile most participants praised AGOA for providing the
platform for high-level consultations and increased trade competitiveness. The
benefits of AGOA, they said, could not be overemphasized with respect to its
effect on the textile industry in Africa.
Ambassador Somduth Soborum of the Republic of Mauritius
charged that AGOA should be used for “the development of value chains which
will culminate in regional integration.” He said it was clear that the priority
going forward would be the Bill’s extension as well as the extension of the
Third Country Fabric provision.
Ambassador Daouda Diabate of Cote D’Ivoire highlighted his
country’s desire to join the ranks of AGOA. Congressman Charlie Rangel in
response said that Cote
D’Ivoire’s return to AGOA eligibility was an initiative that had the
support of various Members of Congress.
The South African Ambassador in the US, Ebrahim Rasool pointed out the
responsibility on the part of the Diplomatic Corps to equip proponents of AGOA
in Congress with proper information in order to deliver a message that is well
understood and to avoid misunderstandings.
Congressman Payne stated that
fostering robust trade between African countries was an essential step for the
continent.
He noted that beyond trade, there was need to foster Foreign Direct
Investment in Africa.
“In the last few years, many African countries have seen a surge in
Foreign Direct Investment, with a great deal of that money coming from India and China,” he added.
Congressman Payne stated that the US
had been slow to react to changes in Africa and that many private sector
companies in the US
remained hesitant to invest in the continent because of political instability
and violence in the region.
He concluded that, “The United States must continue to be a partner in Africa’s progress and build a relationship based on
mutual respect and interests.
Africa is ready to transition from an afterthought to a major figure in
the world economy and the US
should make necessary policy changes to ensure that our financial instruments
are revamped to fully support this transition.”
In his remarks, co-Chair Congressman Bobby L. Rush asserted that he
strongly believed, “Africa holds the keys to
its own development.”
He said the continent was experiencing economic take off and added, “At
the same time, we are facing serious competition in our economic relations with
African countries.
I have not met a single public
official or private sector representative from either the African or North
American continent who has said they do not want more trading activity between
them. What is clear to me is that stronger partnerships will forge the link
that is currently missing.”
From the Private Sector, the Senior Vice President, Public Affairs at
Motorolla Solutions, Ms. Karen Tandy told the meeting that her organization had
been active in African countries for 40 years and taken a slew of development
initiatives to the continent.
She stated, however, that the company had been severely thwarted in its
efforts to extend its business footprint owing mainly to the favourable
financing and uneven playing field, which many Chinese companies seize
advantage in Africa.
She noted that the Export-Import Bank(EIB) of America was essential in terms of
financing, but that there were many EIB rules that were “antiquated and irrelevant.”
In response, Vice Chair of Export-Import Bank (EIB) of America said EIB business was growing rapidly in
Africa as was seen in 2010 when the company
registered 177 transactions in 20 different countries.
She said even though the Bank has a congressional mandate to do business
with African countries, its commitment to the continent was much broader than
just a mandate.
And Senior Counsel, International Policy and Trade from General Electric
(GE) Del Renigar maintained that the firm considered African countries to be
partners.
He said General Electric had
opened an office in Nairobi, Kenya and was extending its operations
southwards to neighbouring countries such as South
Africa and Angola.
He added that the company was taking deliberate steps to position itself
as the one-stop shop for countries seeking to increase their GDPs and to
improve the quality of life and access to healthcare for their people.
At the end of the meeting, key points evolved around a number of issues
of pertinent to AGOA viz-a-viz the United States of America. Of
significance were as follows:
·
Commitment to strengthen and extend AGOA
and the Third Country Fabric provision beyond 2015.
·
Provide Members of Congress who are
champions of AGOA with the information and support necessary to make compelling
cases of linkage to US national interests that build a constituency for AGOA
renewal and extension
·
Promote Cote D’Ivoire’s eligibility to
resume participation in AGOA and move that initiative forward post-haste
·
Advance efforts to improve US competitiveness with regard to China
through strengthening Export Import Bank
(EIB)
·
To increase exports to Africa via EIB
financing and more favourable investment conditions for US companies in Africa
·
The American Private Sector were unanimous
in their call for a leveling playing field as far as American businesses were
concerned, and equipping those businesses with the tools to access and to
compete in African markets
·
That
the first Quarterly Meeting with the African Diplomatic Corps would
serve as an ongoing forum for the promotion of ideas and the cultivation of
relationships between Members of Congress, African Diplomatic Corps and the
Private Sector.
The author is Press
Secretary at the Embassy of the Republic
of Zambia in Washington DC
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