British A. Robinson, Coordinator of the U.S. government’s Prosper Africa initiative, will join a high-level American delegation at the 20th annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Forum being held in Johannesburg from November 2-4.
The forum brings together government, business and civil society leaders from the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa to discuss strengthening trade and investment ties. Enacted in 2000, AGOA provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for over 6,800 products from eligible African countries.
With AGOA set to expire in 2025, this year’s forum comes at a pivotal moment. Prosper Africa has launched new partnerships and initiatives in 2023 to boost African exports to the U.S. under AGOA. U.S. imports under AGOA totaled $6.7 billion in 2021, up from $4.2 billion in 2020.
“Prosper Africa aims to exponentially scale up trade and investment,” said Coordinator Robinson. The initiative is working to increase AGOA utilization through partnerships connecting African suppliers with U.S. buyers and improving access to trade finance.
Robinson will participate in high-level discussions and events at the forum focused on private sector needs and accelerating exports under AGOA. Key sessions include the Private Sector Dialogue on November 2 and Ministerial panels on November 3-4.
