A delegation of the Western Cape Government (WCG) plans to further promote trade and investment for the province in the United States (US).
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The WCG has prioritised protecting the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), an agreement shared between South Africa and the US, which enabled duty-free trading of goods from South Africa to the States.
‘AGOA is very important to us. It is a critical statute that has benefited our province, our country, and our region for over a decade. We are fully aware that there are concerns over whether the US Government will retain and renew our membership come 2025,’ says Western Cape Premier Alan Winde. ‘We are demonstrating through a series of meetings in Washington DC that our delegation has held so far that as a province, we value the benefits AGOA has brought to our region and country.’
Our delegation in the US is hard at work securing the WC & SA’s eligibility to remain part of the Africa Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA). At a host of meetings on Capitol Hill this week, robust & candid discussions have been held. ???? pic.twitter.com/nzrBwhRlnA
— Premier Alan Winde ?? (@alanwinde) June 13, 2023
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Although Washington does not want to sever its ties with South Africa by not renewing its AGOA eligibility, there are some security issues to address, he adds. The country’s eligibility for AGOA is also debatable.
The Western Cape could also suffer greater losses than the rest of the country if it were to lose its membership in the Act, says Winde, due to higher trade tariffs imposed by AGOA.
As per Businesstech, the delegation also met with members of the US House Committee on Ways and Means and the AGOA Civil Society Network. ‘We, as the provincial government, are working hard to deepen relations with the US. AGOA is critical to achieving this. We have created policy certainty in our province to further the mutual benefits of the act,’ says Mireille Wenger, the WCG minister of finance.
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Picture: Jean van der Meulen / Pexels
