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VIDEO – Effectively Renewing AGOA via Updating Rules of Origin
Stephen Lande is, probably, the foremost expert on preference programs. In other words, Mr. Lande understands the essence of other countries being provided market access to the United States, the world’s richest consumer market on a non-reciprocal basis. From the time he helped craft the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), Lande believes that preferential programs like the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) have the capacity to actually impact the economic growth and development of a region like sub-Saharan Africa.
On top of being able to spur regional integration, Lande believes that AGOA’s rules of origin can be updated to reflect the reality that Africa can be an alternative to Asia. If the United States invested its time and resources in crafting an enhanced AGOA, one of the most important changes would come in ensuring that Africa is effectively inserted into global supply chains and distribution networks. Essentially, if we want the kind of development envisaged by the originators of AGOA, Africa must become an integral part of the global network of manufactures and producers.
