Photo by: Bloomberg
As South Africa prepares to host a forum on the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) in November, concern that the country could be disqualified from the preferential trade arrangement seems to have ebbed somewhat. However, given the diplomatic tensions and America’s extreme political divisions, renewal remains uncertain. What is clear is that America wants to make changes to the scheme, with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai arguing that the world is “really different” from when Agoa was enacted in 2000. “We’re on a timeline - you’ve got to reform, you’ve got to update while the world is changing,” Tai said at an event in Washington last month. Photograph: Bloomberg