AGOA drives to ‘escalate’ opportunities, Eritrea still at lowest ebb

AGOA drives to ‘escalate’ opportunities, Eritrea still at lowest ebb

By Yosief Abraham Z

Trump administration announced of expanding the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) thereby to armor economy assistance with sub-Saharan Africa. Following the assessment of the second extended phase of the AGOA in the past two year, Trump’s White House is turning his muzzles to Africa amid strong reactions from a few African countries on his controversial remark on the continent and its immigrants.

Though the mandatory from of the AGOA’s Title I--Trade and Development Act of 2000-- enshrines providing trade preferences for quota and duty-free entry into the United States for certain goods, experts still criticize the overwhelmingly one-sided agreement for it has been fully attracted to the ‘raw-materials and oil’ provision from Africa.

“Though now China is on the ascendancy podium, in 2011 alone, exports have, through AGOA, increased by more than 500 per cent from around $8.2 billion then to $54 billion. Unfortunately, about 90 per cent of these are natural resources, mainly oil; and the rest quota is from textiles and hides,” adds Michael Spenser, economist strategist at World Watch. “In the current world where emergent powers are adjusting the domineering spot, AGOA is just a futile banner,” slams some experts.

In addition to this, as AGOA, among other determining factor for eligibility, authorizes the implementation of having satisfactory compliance with American “Visa System,” Eritrea has already been with four other African countries that are not eligible for this year’s AGOA scheme.

Though the second AGOA legislation was extended on 29 June 2015 by a further 10 years, as China’s less austerity measurements have been fuelling African countries options, AGOA is continuing with challenged aspects.

It is recalled that Eritrea is one of the long years banned countries for AGOA plan, followed by countries that were temporarily suspended states like Guinea, Madagascar, Niger and Burundi, in different years.

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Yosief Abraham Z is a freelance journalist and current Excecutive Director of HorMid Media and Art Center. You can contact him at josiabraham29@gmail.com

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