US urged to renew AGOA in order not to ‘lose economic ground’ in Africa to China

The United States is “missing an incredible window of opportunity” in Africa, a senior executive in US company told the US Senate Committee on Finance, urging a “quick renewal” of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) that will have the largest impact on the US business interests on the African continent.

SanMar Corporation’s general counsel and corporate secretary Melissa Nelson told the US Senate committee’s hearing on renewing and revitalizing trade preference programs that so many US jobs in the value chain depend on being able to import duty-free under AGOA. She also highlighted that “staring down the expiration date” of 2025 has put any potential investments on hold for the past few years.

Echoing her words, US senator Mike Crapo warned that “we are losing economic ground in Africa to China — even with the AGOA.” He explained that African countries have “so much potential” but the US won’t invest when the benefits of AGOA could expire before a return on investment.

While he supported programs like the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program and AGOA, Mike Crapo criticized the Biden administration for terminating the Trump administration’s efforts to step up engagement in Africa with negotiation efforts to get a “real free trade agreement with Kenya”.

Meanwhile, Florizelle B. Liser, president and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa noted that the continent in 2024 is very different than what it was back in 2000, when AGOA first went into effect. She described the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as game-changer for Africa if only because through the AfCFTA “African countries are creating a much more harmonized and unified market by reducing and removing both tariffs and non-tariff barriers,” and thus becoming more attractive for global partners like the US.