Tau says it is ‘most ideal’ to reach agreement on Agoa before US election
South Africa has been in discussions with the US to extend the Agoa agreement.
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau. Picture: Daniel Garzon/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau says South Africa has received significant support from the United States (US) Congress for the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
Tau, alongside his deputy Andrew Whitfield, held a media briefing on Tuesday following their attendance at the five-day Agoa Forum in the US last week.
South Africa has been in discussions with the US to extend the Agoa agreement, which is set to expire in September 2025.
Enacted by the US Congress in 2000, Agoa allows countries in sub-Saharan African to trade with the Northern American country duty-free.
US Congress supports SA inclusion in Agoa
During the briefing, Minister Tau stated that South Africa has received strong bipartisan support from both the Republican and Democratic parties in the US, despite earlier calls for the country’s exclusion due to its non-aligned stance on the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
The minister assured the public that there has been no resolution by the US Congress suggesting that South Africa be cut off from the Agoa agreement.
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“The manually beneficial economic and trade partnership is highlighted by the more than 600 US businesses operating in South Africa, with over 1.3 million jobs create in sub-Saharan Africa,” Tau told the media.
He revealed that South Africa’s delegation presented several proposals at the Agoa Forum, including the extension of the programme for stability and enhancing Africa’s manufacturing capabilities.
US election to impact Agoa decision?
Tau further indicated that the outcome of the US election, set for November this year, is unlikely to affect Congress’s decision on Agoa.
“We would appreciate that the US is in an election season, which makes the situation quite fluid in the processes of decision-making and how those decisions will be made.
“There is general agreement that there should be speedy re-authorisation, however, none of the parties we engaged with could give us a certain date on the timelines.”
READ MORE: US keen on strong ties with South Africa
Tau outlined three possible scenarios for the timing of Agoa’s renewal.
The “most ideal scenario” would be to secure the renewal before the US presidential election.
The second scenario would involve renewing Agoa between the election and the presidential inauguration, which is expected to take place early in 2025.
“The third, which is the least ideal, would be that it’s done after the inauguration. We pressed very hard to get to the [most] ideal and many people said ‘we will try and work towards getting it through, but we can’t give you firmed commitments’.”
The minister also noted that the Agoa bill needs to pass through both the US Senate and the House of Representatives.
The Senate is scheduled to go on recess and will return in September before the final push towards the presidential election.
“So, we literally have two weeks within which we are trying to get Agoa to go through and it is competing with other pieces of legislation that they will be considering.”
He added: “Our analysis would be that the electoral outcome should not necessarily impact [Agoa]. Of course that’s speculative at this point, but we work on the basis of what we have, which is bipartisan engagements.
“We haven’t received any indications from the candidates or at least from a Republican candidate on a specific position around Agoa.”
‘Agoa is not going anywhere’
Whitfield also stressed that Agoa was likely to be renewed.
“My feeling leaving Washington, based on the previous months in the run up to this, is that we had a positive visit. We had a feeling, very much, that our relationship within Agoa is not going anywhere,” he said.
The deputy minister said there was hard work to be done as negotiations continue.
He further noted that the African Union (AU) is seeking a 16-year extension.
“It is part of the negotiations so I think that we’ll have to see [as] there will be follow up engagements with congress and other stakeholders in Washington.”
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