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South Africa’s trade delegation that visited Washington, DC, last week showed that the country had “heard” American concerns, say US officials.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Parks Tau, led a delegation of business, labour, and civil society groups to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in the US capital.
Tau’s visit to the US was meant to soothe fears that South Africa could be ejected from the deal over the country’s foreign policy stance, particularly disagreements over South Africa’s stance on Israel, the war in Ukraine, and Iran.
“I think it is clear that our partners in South Africa heard the concerns that were raised last year,” said Joy Basu of the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs, without providing further details.
Responsive engagements
AGOA, established 23 years ago, grants qualifying African countries duty-free access for thousands of goods to the massive US market. South Africa is the deal’s biggest African beneficiary, using it to export around R65 billion ($3.6 billion) worth of goods to the US in 2022.
Basu said there had been “close engagements on multiple levels” between South African and the US.
US officials at the forum were told by their South African counterparts that South Africa’s new Government of National Unity intended to be “responsive” to US concerns and wanted to work to improve ties, she said.
“We really welcomed the engagement from Minister Parks Tau and the delegation he brought.”
Still, Basu noted that it was too early to say whether South Africa would pass its annual eligibility review to remain in the programme until 2025.
South Africa is not alone in this regard. All African countries have their eligibility reviewed annually, based on criteria such as respect for human rights, the rule of law, and not undermining US interests.
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Productive, constructive
The legislation that governs AGOA will also expire in 14 months’ time. It needs to be reauthorised by both houses of Congress and signed into law by the US president for the trade deal to continue past 2025.
On his return to South Africa, Tau said he and his team had held “productive and constructive discussions” with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, as well as the US Administration.
“There was a lot of interest in the GNU and its priorities, including efforts to deepen and enhance bilateral relations with the US,” he said.
The Biden administration has said it is strongly in favour of an early renewal of AGOA, with the president calling it the “bedrock of America’s economic partnership with African nations”.
A jam-packed political schedule in the US, however, means the new law might only cross the desk of the president in early 2025, well after the US presidential election.
