Members of the media are invited to a joint media briefing by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, Business and Labour on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) and their upcoming visit to the United States.
Details of the briefing are as follows:
Date: 10 April 2015
Time: 12h00
Venue: Imbizo Media Centre, 120 Plein Street, Parliament
NB: There will be a video link to Tshedimosetso House, 1035 Frances Baard Street, Pretoria
Minister Davies will lead a delegation comprising of senior officials, business and labour to participate in the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the United States Trade Representative.
The delegation will also advocate for the renewal of AGOA with South Africa included. South Africa together with sub-Saharan Africa have been calling for 15 year renewal of AGOA for all eligible countries without any conditionalities.
Last year at the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington, President Jacob Zuma said that South Africa’s graduation from Agoa would damage the African Union’s regional integration initiatives. He said by endorsing the extension of AGOA, the U.S. will be promoting African integration, industrialisation and infrastructure development. Agoa benefits both the US and Africa.
For SA, more than 90% of our exports to the US enter duty-free through a combination of access under the most favoured nation (MFN) treatment, the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), and Agoa. Our analysis also shows that about 75% of US exports to SA enter duty-free under our MFN regime. SA remains the largest market for US exports in Africa. A US study undertaken by the Brookings Institute found that AGOA has created 100 000 jobs in the US and a local study has found that 62 000 jobs were created in South Africa.
Media RSVP’s should be directed to Mamosa Dikeledi on 076 0234170 or KMDikeledi@thedti.gov.za.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe
Tel: 012 394 1650
Cell: 079 492 1774
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
