African ministers of trade attending the 21st African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum held in Washington D.C. last week have urged the US government to do away with the AGOA’s annual reviews and expressed the importance of an expeditious renewal of the legislation by the end of 2024. With AGOA expiring in 14 months, the African trade ministers called on the Biden administration and the members of US Congress to expeditiously renew the AGOA legislation with non-controversial enhancements and amendments for a minimum of 16 years to provide the required predictability and certainty to buyers, exporters, and investors. According to a read-out statement, they have also urged the US government to remove the annual reviews, expressing concerns over the unilateral removal of eligible members from the trade agreement by the United States. The AGOA Forum is held on an alternate basis between the United States and Africa and the meeting next year will be held in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The 21st AGOA Forum in Washington last week brought together senior government officials from the United States, from AGOA-eligible countries, as well as representatives from continental and regional economic organizations, the private sector, labor, and civil society.
