Jun 01, 1999 - Aug 30, 1999
African Perspectives on the Trade Bill
Much of the debate in Congress over the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has revolved around whether the bill is good for U.S. business and labor interests. Much less attention has been paid to the bill's prospective impact in Africa. In an effort to inject some fresh African perspectives into the debate, AAI organized a series of focus group discussions in eight African countries and the U.S. from June through August of 1999.
The African participants—a diverse cross-section of businesspersons, academics, and civil society leaders—were asked to discuss the major provisions and underlying themes of AGOA. While there was no overall consensus on whether the bill should be supported, the participants were virtually unanimous on two points:
- Trade and investment initiatives for Africa will not succeed without substantial investments in developing Africa 's human resources.
- Debt relief should be the highest priority of donor countries seeking to promote African economic development.
Neither of these two points is inconsistent with AGOA, though both suggest that expanded trade and investment alone will not bolster African economic development.
Among other recurring themes in the sessions were: 1) that U.S. policy should do more to promote regional economic cooperation and integration in Africa; 2) that U.S. policymakers should undertake broader and more regular consultation with Africans, especially those representing civil society; and 3) that AGOA's eligibility standards should be refined to take into account differing levels of development and should not be linked with IMF Structural Adjustment conditions.
Read the Full Report