This archive report was first published on 6 August 2019.
Published on August 6, 2019, a conference in Ivory Coast revealed that trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa has been sluggish despite a 2000 US law designed to boost access to the American market.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act, extended to 2025 in 2015, offers tariff-free access to 6,500 products for 39 countries, including oil, agricultural goods, textiles, and handicrafts.
However, trade quadrupled in value from 2002 to 2008, reaching $100 billion in 2008, but declined to $39 billion in 2017, according to USAid figures.
Constance Hamilton, assistant US trade representative for Africa, stated at the 18th AGOA Forum in Abidjan, "I do not think that AGOA has been the game-changer for many countries on the continent that we hoped it would be."
She added, "AGOA has not led to the trade diversification for which we originally hoped," and noted that petroleum products accounted for 67% of AGOA imports.
Deputy US Trade Representative Curtis Mahoney announced new initiatives to strengthen the US-Africa trade partnership, combining them with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to maximize trade potential.
