Musings From Abroad

US seeking to improve US/Africa trade programme— Official

Published

1 year ago

November 4, 2023

A United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai has said that the country is in search of a “more useful and effective” trade programme with Africa.

Tai said on Saturday that talks were underway to update a two-decade-old duty-free initiative. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows duty-free access to the US market for exports from eligible nations, is set to expire in September 2025. Discussions are currently underway regarding potential renewal and reform.

Tai is in Johannesburg, South Africa today concluding three days of discussions with African trade ministers regarding the future of the programme and a potential third reauthorization after it has already been reauthorized twice, in 2004 and 2015.

“We would like to see this programme be more than just a symbolic one. We would like for it to be more useful and effective,” Tai told journalists.

Research indicates that in certain countries, particularly for women, AGOA has contributed to the reduction of poverty and the creation of jobs. However, between 2014 and 2021, just five countries accounted for over 75% of duty-free non-petroleum exports to the US under the programme: South Africa, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, and Ethiopia.

In the meantime, to calm business concerns and draw in new investors regarding AGOA’s sustainability, business associations and governments in Africa are pushing for an early, unchanged 10-year extension. But the Biden administration wants changes as part of a renewal.

“I don’t quite know how you would enhance it without doing it in the statute,” Tai said.

A recent push in the US Congress is in favour of expeditiously renewing AGOA. Gregory W. Meeks, a Democrat from New York, and Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas, the chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, stated on Friday that they both believed AGOA could be enhanced.

To emphasise the importance of Africa and counter any threats China and Russia may pose to US interests in this important region, the US is eager to regain its declining influence in the continent.

Related Topics:Africa Featured United States

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Musings From Abroad

Nigeria, India to strengthen counterterrorism, maritime security cooperation

Published

18 hours ago

November 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

During a state visit to Nigeria on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra, Modi reached an agreement, on behalf of his country, to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, intelligence, and maritime security.

President Bola Tinubu invited Modi to visit Nigeria, the first Indian prime minister to do so in 17 years.

Tinubu is looking for investments from some of the largest economies in the world.

In addition to discussing economic development, defence, healthcare, and food security, Modi and Tinubu met at the presidential mansion on Sunday after arriving in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday night, according to a joint statement.

The two nations decided to work together to protect maritime trade routes and fight piracy in response to the mounting risks in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, is looking to attract more Indian investment and lower-cost credit lines in order to strengthen its economy and generate employment.

Nigeria announced last year that it had obtained about $14 billion in pledges from Indian businesses, including Jindal Steel and Power, which promised to spend $3 billion in Nigeria’s steel industry, during the G20 conference.

Over 200 Indian businesses are present in Nigeria.

Modi was scheduled to go to Brazil for this year’s G20 conference after Nigeria.

Nigeria and India have a long-standing and cordial bilateral relationship. Nigeria, home to more than 200 million people, and India, home to 1.3 billion people, are both sizable emerging nations with multilingual, multiethnic, and multireligious communities.

Musings From Abroad

Military advisors from Russia arrive Equatorial Guinea

Published

2 days ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Russian military advisors are in Equatorial Guinea training indigenous soldiers.

Anonymous sources cited by Reuters during the week claim that between 100 and 200 Russian instructors are training with elite guards in charge of guarding the President and the first family.

The males had been seen in Malabo, the country’s capital, and Bata, its second city. Reports of Russian forces stationed in the nation initially appeared in August.

Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has maintained close relations with Moscow.

Nguema travelled to Moscow in September to attend the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

Russia has strengthened military connections with African countries, sending advisors and combat soldiers to the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Faced with an Islamist terrorist insurrection, three Sahel countries have turned to Moscow for support, expelling French and American troops.