About the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a trade mechanism that was passed by the US Government in 2000 to encourage US-Africa trade.
AGOA currently provides the 37 AGOA-eligible countries with:
Most liberal access to US markets for any country or region without at free trade agreement
Reinforced Africa reform and development efforts
Access to US credit and technical expertise
Eligibility for AGOA was designed to reward and provide incentives for Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries that are making progress in political and economic reforms.
Each SSA country’s performance is assessed using the following criteria:
Establishment of market based economies
Development of political pluralism and the rule of law
Elimination of barriers to US trade and investment
Protection of intellectual property rights
Efforts to combat corruption
Policies to reduce poverty and increase access to health care and education
Protection of human rights and worker rights
Elimination of certain child labor practices
By creating tangible incentives for African countries to implement economic and commercial reform policies, AGOA contributes to better market opportunities and stronger commercial partners in Africa for US companies.
AGOA should help forge stronger commercial ties between African countries and the United States, while it helps to integrate Africa into the global economy. US firms may find new opportunities in privatizations of African state-owned enterprises, or in partnership with African companies in infrastructure projects. US firms can also benefit by forming joint ventures with African or other firms to take advantage of AGOA benefits.
News
Zambia served as the host for the 10th Annual AGOA Forum. The forum took place in Lusaka, June 8 - 10, 2011. The theme of this year's forum was "Enhanced Trade through Increased Competiveness, Value Addition, and Deeper Regional Integration," and the event brought together civil society, and public and private sector leaders to examine ways to enhance AGOA's effectiveness.
The Secretariat for the AGOA Civil Society Network, (AGOA CSO Network) actively participated in AGOA committee planning meetings in Washington, DC with key US and Zambian government officials, and civil society and private sector leaders to discuss arrangements for the civil society, private sector and ministerial elements of the 2011 Forum. Additionally, the Secretariat was also been engaged in planning meetings with members of the Zambian civil society via conference calls and direct video conferences.
The civil society and private sector sessions of the AGOA Forum took place June 8, 2011, the ministerial session took place June 9-10, 2011, and the African Women's Entrepreneurship Program, (AWEP) introduced last year also took place on June 8, 2011.
The AGOA Civil Society Communiqué was presented to the 2011 AGOA Ministerial Forum by Fred Oladeinde, President of The Foundation for Democracy in Africa, and Chairman of the AGOA Civil Society Network; and Vladimir Chilinya, Coordinator, Center for Global Dialogue
