Tau, Whitfield confident that SA’s relationship with AGOA will continue well into the future
Minister Parks Tau and his deputy Andrew Whitfield are confident that the country’s relationship with AGOA will continue well into the future.
Trade Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau. Picture: @the_dtic/X.
CAPE TOWN - The South African Government of National Unity (GNU) says nothing’s changed in its African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) relationship, with a growing appetite to extend the trade agreement.
Trade Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau has also given assurances that the country does not stand the risk of being excluded from the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which exempts certain African countries from taxes on their exports to the US.
Tau and his deputy, Andrew Whitfield, on Tuesday, provided feedback following their mission to the AGOA forum in Washington DC.
Tau and Whitfield are confident that the country’s relationship with AGOA will continue well into the future.
This followed concerns that the country might be excluded from the trade agreement, losing out on trade benefits between South Africa and the US.
But Whitfield said that everything is in order and there was an appetite to strengthen AGOA.
"My feeling leaving Washington DC, based on the previous months in the run-up to this, is that we had a positive visit. We had a feeling very much that our relationship within AGOA is not going anywhere."
Tau, meanwhile, said they received strong bipartisan support from the two parties in the US for the reauthorisation and there would be further talks on the extension of AGOA.