The trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau. File photo.
There has been no “firm commitment” to the reauthorisation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) agreement with the US, according to trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau.
“Basically, what they said is that they will try to get it through but could not give a firm commitment,” Tau told a media briefing on Tuesday on the outcome of the 21st Agoa Forum which took place in the US last week.
The new minister led a delegation to the meeting in Washington which included his deputy Andrew Whitfield, as well as officials from the private sector, civil society and organised labour.
Agoa was launched in 2000 as a preferential trade programme that allowed select African countries to export products to the US tariff-free. It is set to expire in 2025, after being renewed in 2015 for 10 years, but South Africa and other countries have been pushing to get the agreement renewed again.
Tau said proposals presented by the South African delegation included the extension of Agoa for stability, improved rules of origin and adjustments to the eligibility review process to preserve regional value chains and enhance Africa’s manufacturing capabilities.
“The importance of maintaining these value chains was emphasised, with calls for Agoa enhancements to support the African Continental Free Trade Area [AfCFTA] integration. Agoa and AfCFTA should be viewed as complementary forces crucial for Africa’s economic integration rather than as separate entities,” he said.
In a statement issued on his return from the four-day forum, Tau said the trip had been “successful” and that there was broad support for strengthening bilateral trade and investment relations between South Africa and the US.
“The US remains South Africa’s strategic trading partner, and South Africa is the largest non-oil Sub-Saharan Africa exporting partner to the US, and through Agoa it has been able to boost both agriculture and value-added exports, thus creating much-needed jobs for South Africans,” he said.
At Tuesday’s briefing, Tau noted that the reauthorisation talks were happening as the US headed towards a crucial presidential election in November and Agoa was therefore probably not a priority for Washington.
“We appreciate that the US is during an election and some decisions may need to be made before November … and, because it involves the legislature and the senate, they have to go through their respective processes,” he said.
Tau added that his team was cognisant of the potential change in administration in the US and what the implications of that could be “but, as indicated in our statement, we received bi-partisan support for the reauthorisation of Agoa”.
Asked by journalists whether it was likely that South Africa would still be part of Agoa, given that there was speculation last year about the country losing its preferential market access to the US, Whitfield said the US had not been upfront with details of how to strengthen the pact or what might change about Agoa.
However, he added: “My feeling leaving Washington, based on the run-up to this visit, is that we had a positive visit and we left feeling very much that our relationship within Agoa is not going anywhere.”