NEWS: US commerce body goes to bat for SA

The American Chamber of Commerce in SA has travelled to Washington DC twice in recent 

months to meet leaders of the US Senate and House of Representatives, asking them to lend

support to the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) for SA.

Agoa allows more than 98% of South African exports to enter the US duty-free, the chamber 

says. It was approved by the US Congress in May 2000, to assist the economies of

sub-Saharan Africa and to improve economic relations between the US and the region.

Initially, the legislation was to expire in 2008 but Congress passed the Agoa Acceleration Act of 

2004, which extended it to 2015.

US trade data show that SA’s exports to the world’s largest economy were worth $3.6bn last 

year. 

The US is the second-largest destination for South African exports after China,

accounting for 7% of all exports.

It is by far the largest destination for SA’s automotive manufacturing sector, making up 21% of 

all vehicle exports and 42% of car exports.

Read more on this story in the Business Day- October 21, 2014

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