DA welcomes nail-biting resolution of AGOA deal

07 January 2015

The DA welcomes this afternoon’s announcement that South Africa’s inclusion in AGOA has finally been confirmed following protracted tardiness in negotiation of this deal by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies. South Africa’s securing of this AGOA deal 'in extra time' will go a long way in ensuring that scores of South African jobs are not lost.

This comes after months of dithering on the part of Minister Davies in the process of clinching this deal for South Africa. Indeed the negotiations for the renewal of South Africa’s AGOA benefits have been completely mishandled by Minister Davies.

For more than a year the DA has warned that the DTI was engaging in a game of high stakes brinkmanship with the US government, deliberately acting in a manner that antagonised the US Trade Representative and Congress. We have missed deadlines, not answered letters, and made commitments only to fail to honour them later. 

In any event, we are pleased that we have managed to seal this deal that will bode well for the retention of thousands of jobs.

While 8 million South Africans are unable to find a job, being excluded from a preferential trade agreement with the world’s largest economy is something we simply could not afford. We therefore call on the government to comply with the prescripts of this beneficial trade agreement and in doing so show real and meaningful commitment to economic growth and job creation in the immediate and long term.

Statement issued by Geordin Hill-Lewis MP, DA Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry, 7 January 2016