Obama announces enhanced trade with Africa

{mosads}He said the continent has “a lot of untapped potential” and to improve economic conditions the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) must not only be renewed but improved and made more effective. 

The president called for expanding trade across Africa from the top three countries — South Africa, Nigeria and Angola. 

Gross domestic product of sub-Saharan Africa is still less than $2 trillion and only about 2 percent of U.S. exports go there. 

Obama said that Africa must take the lead to grow their economies, attract business investment and improve not only the export chain leaving there but between the nations where constraints hold back expansion. 

He also announced that Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will lead a major trade mission to Africa in her first year and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will go to the region, as well.  

“We will bring American investors and businesses together in a major conference on doing business in Africa,” he said. “Other American trade missions next year will focus on forging new partnerships in agriculture and energy and infrastructure.  So, across the board, we want to step up our game.”

Overall, the plan would build on the U.S.-EAC Trade and Investment Partnership announced in June 2012.

The five states boast 130 million people and are looking to meet the demands of a growing educated middle class. To that end, trade among the nations has doubled in the past five years, and the region’s economic growth has risen to more than $80 billion, growing four times in the past decade.

Making further inroads on increasing trade with Africa will be the focus of the AGOA summit in Addis Ababa next month.  

The additional talks will include regulatory issues, especially those related to food safety and plant and animal health, and the creation of a broad framework that will educate and encourage U.S. business investment in Africa. 

Meanwhile, a trio of senators — Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) — have introduced a bill to increase U.S. exports to Africa. The measure was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week and sent to the full Senate for consideration. 

The lawmakers criticized U.S. efforts to “develop a coherent strategy to compete in Africa” that they argue is hurting U.S. business interests and workers. 

This post was updated at 2:40 p.m.