THE Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomes the resolution established with the US Government over the AGOA Trade agreement.
According to Dumile Cele, CEO of Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, this resolution will allow South African businesses access to a market that will be seeing considerable growth in 2016 as opposed to the rest of the world economy.
In light of this resolution, the Durban Chamber of Commerce wishes to encourage National Government and the US to strengthen economic ties and ensure greater policy certainty to business as this will give confidence to foreign investment into South Africa especially under the current harsh economic circumstances.
“The Chamber sees such agreements as fundamental to South Africa’s future prosperity. A globally competitive South Africa needs a stable multilateral framework for trade liberalisation. This can only be secured through strong bilateral agreements such as AGOA and also providing added trade opportunities,” she said.
Cele said a globalised economy requires the dismantling of barriers to market access, and that greater predictability, legal certainty and transparency, less red tape and fewer technical barriers are key to achieving globally competitive South African businesses.
“While we understand the need for our poultry industry to be protected, the Chamber commits itself to lobby with the South African Poultry Association to strengthen the poultry industry to be competitive on the global market and boost jobs that support the Food and Allied Workers Union. We should work towards mainstreaming trade-related issues into all our bilateral co-operation and, in co-operation with our development partners, elevating the trade and development agenda in the poverty reduction strategies,” she said.
