Amini Kajunju, AAI President and CEO, and Florizelle B. Liser, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)

AAI President Amini Kajunju met with top U.S. officials on Mar. 7 to discuss the reauthorization of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in Washington, DC.

Kajunju spoke with Florizelle B. Liser, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and Bisa Williams, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

Voice of America’s “Straight Talk Africa” featured Kajunju, Liser and Williams as panelists on AGOA reauthorization on February 26.

Signed into law in May 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) expands U.S. trade and investment with 40 eligible sub-Saharan African countries to spur economic growth and promote sub-Saharan Africa’s economic integration into the global economy.

Since its inception, eligible sub-Saharan African countries have exported over $430 billion worth of goods to the United States and the related Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Yet U.S. investment in Africa accounts for less than 1  percent of total U.S. investments worldwide.

The AGOA law is set to expire in 2015. AAI’s Washington office will be working diligently to ensure that the law does not expire on September 31, 2015.

To further the discussion on AGOA reauthorization, AAI will hold its first Conversations on Africa panel discussion, “Why Extend AGOA? Benefits to Africa and the United States” in the spring 2014.

For more information, please contact AAI’s Washington Representative, Austin Cooper at at (202) 550-1149 202-550-1149202-550-1149 or email, austinrcooper@gmail.com.