© Reuters. Delegates attend the opening of the U.S.-sub-Saharan Africa trade forum to discuss the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act , at the NASREC conference center in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 3, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoJOHANNESBURG - U.S.
U.S. officials were in Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday wrapping up three days of talks with African trade ministers over AGOA's future. While U.S. companies are increasingly looking to Africa as an alternative investment destination as they move away from China, Robinson said they need the reassurance of an extension of AGOA.
The initiative, initially launched in 2000, has enjoyed longstanding bipartisan support from U.S. lawmakers, who view it as critical to countering Chinese influence in Africa.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that the White House wants to work with Congress to improve AGOA and not simply renew it without changes.
African governments and U.S. industry associations worry that attempts to radically alter AGOA risk bogging the programme's renewal down in a Congress that is already struggling to pass even the most critical legislation.