AGOA is still breathing, but only just. There are new signs that the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which has given African countries preferential access to the United States market, may be revived after it expired at the end of last month.
A bill to extend its life has been tabled in the US Congress by Senator John Kennedy, a representative from the majority Republican Party, who is not related to the late US president of the same name. The move was reported by InsideTrade.com, which noted that the bill was introduced on 30 September, the same day that the AGOA legislation expired.
It also came as a US official had backed a one-year extension of the AGOA provisions, the publication said.
Because of the current US government shut down, the text of Kennedy’s bill is not available, so there are no details yet of exactly what he is proposing, or for how long.
All that is known is the title of his proposed legislation: “A bill to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act, to require a full review of the bilateral relationship between the United States and South Africa, and for other purposes.”
For South Africa, the second part, the proposed review of the country’s relationship with the US, is ominous. Republican politicians have repeatedly called for this review, because of South Africa’s perceived close links with Russia, China and Iran, which they say is contrary to US interests.
Editorial comment:
While Kennedy’s legislation may or may not proceed, South Africa will in any case be saddled with a 72 000-tonne annual quota of US chicken imports free of the anti-dumping duties that should apply. The quota was forced on South Africa as a condition of AGOA renewal in 2015, but South African negotiators have now offered it to the US as a permanent fixture, whether or not AGOA survives.
The country’s poultry industry was not consulted on the quota offer, which it regards as damaging. However, for the second time in a decade, the South African government has shown its willingness to sacrifice the poultry industry in order to secure benefits for other industries.
The government has yet to acknowledge the threat that the quota poses to poultry producers, or offer them anything in return for this sacrifice.
