WASHINGTON IN ASSURANCES ON AGOA AFTER REPUBLICAN POLL WIN

The US government has said that the outcome of the recent mid-term elections will not affect efforts to renew a trade programme that gives African exports duty-free access to the US.

There has been concern that a Republican-controlled Congress might delay the renewal of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which expires in September 2015.

“There is bipartisan support in Congress to renew Agoa, so there is still time to work on its renewal,” said Catherine Novelli, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment, on a recent visit to Kenya.

The Republicans swept to power in the US Senate in the recent mid-term elections that were dominated by criticism of Barack Obama’s presidency.

Some African countries had feared that a Republican dominated Congress would frustrate President Obama’s efforts to renew Agoa, from which many African countries, including the EAC member states, have benefited through foreign exchange earnings and job creation.

READ: US Congress to decide on next phase of Agoa

Agoa, enacted in 2000, allows about 7,000 products from sub-Saharan Africa duty-free access to the US market. The pact covers nearly 40 African countries.

“Agoa also encourages regional integration, so we have to work collectively to ensure that it succeeds,” Ms Novelli said.

According to the Office of the United States Representative, exports from sub-Saharan Africa to the US under Agoa and other trade pacts totalled $26.8 billion last year. Most of the exports were petroleum products.

On wildlife conservation, Ms Novelli said Washington has so far donated $60 million to various African governments to strengthen capacity to combat the illegal wildlife trade.

She said the Obama administration will give an additional $15 million for training and capacity development in some African countries, among them Kenya and Tanzania.

“We will be focusing on three areas: Stopping poachers from killing wildlife; preventing transportation of wildlife materials from source areas; and dealing with demand for such products,” she said.

The US official had attended a two-day regional summit on wildlife conservation in Tanzania, which discussed wildlife crimes, migratory wildlife and shared ecosystems.

East African Community Secretary-General Richard Sezibera said the tourism sector is threatened by poaching, illegal wildlife trafficking, deforestation, climate change and global economic meltdown.

Ms Novelli said the US will offer technical assistance to African governments to effectively deal with increasingly sophisticated poaching networks operating on the continent. The US, she added, will work with Beijing to tackle the demand side, as China is a leading market for illegal wildlife products.

The East African