Business
U.S. – Africa Trade: Much Progress has been made; but we haven’t tried everything yet.
Editor’s Note:
One of the best things about Katrin is how much heart she has. Not only does she care deeply about the things she does; she is not afraid to let everybody know where she stands on the issues. But of course, she is very careful about the way she lays things down. She believes in discourse, discussion and progressing issues from start to finish. If she were in sales, she would be known as The Closer.
THN: Let’s go through the process we had to undertake with everyone else in this publication. Let’s talk about improving this nascent relationship
between the U.S. and Africa. What say you?
KK: This is a significant moment in the trade and investment relationship between the United States and Africa. There are many opportunities comingup with the next stage of AGOA, the trade and investment partnership with the EAC, and the Power Africa and Trade Africa initiatives.
Taking advantage of these will require a real focus on what is possible and what the market could look like in the future. It will also require commitment from all sides and new ways of approaching both market possibilities and challenges, with an emphasis on how improvements to the business climate are implemented in practice.
We have the chance to build upon the foundation AGOA established and develop a true, mutually beneficial partnership with the market as its driver,
and this should be the focus of our collective efforts in the upcoming months.
Africa has changed a great deal since AGOA was enacted, and many of its markets have become much more commercial. Companies are responding to African
markets in a way that is fundamentally different than they may have five or ten years ago.
The voice of these companies (and their African counterparts) will need to be part of the dialogue at all stages. Of course the highest levels of government must also be engaged, but much will need to happen on the ground. In particular, government involvement will need to extend down to the regulators who are making day-to-day decisions in the market. The conversation has to become more specific in order for it to be practical and cannot remain something at the 10,000-foot level.
Both U.S. and African governments will need to take measures to improve markets, yet much of the work can only be done on the African side. These new partnerships can be built through AGOA, the Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs), the Trade and Investment Partnership with the East African Community, and other mechanisms as well.
