South Africa’s government on Tuesday welcomed the approval by the U.S. House of Representatives of a bill to renew Washington’s preferential trade programme for Africa for an additional three years, Reuters reported.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act, first enacted in 2000, grants duty-free access to the U.S. market for eligible products from Sub-Saharan African countries and is estimated to support hundreds of thousands of jobs across the continent. The programme expired in September.
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South Africa’s Trade Minister, Parks Tau, said in a statement that extending AGOA would “provide certainty and predictability for African and American businesses that rely on the programme.”
He added that South Africa, Africa’s largest economy, remains in talks with the United States over a separate bilateral trade agreement, despite relations with Washington having deteriorated during President Donald Trump’s second term in office.
The legislation to extend AGOA will now move to the U.S. Senate before being sent to President Trump for consideration.
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Image Credit: The Promo Group
