Abidjan, 14th December 2022 (AIP) — US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and US Deputy Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi hosted sub-Saharan African trade ministers for a ministerial meeting of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) meeting at the US-Africa Summit of Leaders.
This ministerial meeting was an occasion to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to developing trade and investment with the continent and to underscore the broad consensus on the need to strengthen AGOA implementation and modernization in order to translate the opportunities into concrete benefits for African people, according to a press release from the US Department of State, transmitted Wednesday, December 14, 2022 to the AIP.
During the meeting, top trade officials from sub-Saharan Africa and the Biden-Harris administration exchanged views on critical issues impacting the United States’ trade relationship with the African continent, including the future of the AGOA.
US Representative Catherine Tai thanked ministers for this “productive” and “frank” discussion on issues that are at the heart of US-Africa trade and investment.
He underlined the need to be creative and build on the results of AGOA by developing ideas that will foster economic integration and investment on the continent.
Ambassador Tai also hosted a plenary session with commerce ministers and a bipartisan group of congressmen serving on House Ways and Means and Foreign Affairs committees, who discussed their support for boosting trade and investment between the United States and Africa.
(AIP)
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