Op-Ed by Ambassador Maria Brewer
“The United States is all in on Africa,” President Biden affirmed during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit last December.
The future is Africa. One example is its youthful population: The median age on the continent is nineteen. By 2050, one in four people in the world will be in Africa and the United States wants them to be healthy and wealthy. What happens in Africa will affect the rest of the globe – and we want to work together to ensure it is bright, safe, and prosperous.
Our stories have always been intertwined. Today we know that our success—the success of all our people on both sides of the Atlantic—is inextricably linked. Our African partners are central to the United States’ approach to driving trade that is accessible, fair, competitive, and resilient. We need to partner together to protect the dignity of all workers and sustainability of our planet — and pursue a race to the top amongst institutions and enterprises.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, is a key pillar to realizing this vision for shared prosperity. Since it was signed over two decades ago, AGOA has made a tremendous difference for millions of Africans. By providing duty-free access to the U.S. market for over 6,800 different products, the legislation has helped create jobs and new economic opportunities, including for women and youth. If you manage a business here in Lesotho, I encourage you to see how you might use AGOA to increase your sales, train more employees, and better your community.
AGOA is an example of how we can use trade and competition as a force for good. To maintain eligibility, countries must uphold several values that are core to free and fair societies—rule of law, respect for human rights, combating corruption, and protecting workers’ rights.
In a nutshell, AGOA is intended to be a transformational tool to bolster inclusive prosperity across Sub-Saharan Africa.
In Lesotho, the impact of AGOA on the nation’s economic landscape cannot be overstated. AGOA contributes to a remarkable third of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. This fundamental economic link has been a crucial factor in shaping the nation’s prosperity.
Lesotho’s textiles and apparel manufacturing industry, which has flourished under AGOA, is now the second-largest employer in the country after the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho. This sector remains a critical part of Lesotho’s employment landscape, engaging approximately 4.4 percent of the total workforce and supporting 10.5 percent of the female workforce, contributing significantly to employment and women’s economic empowerment.
While these are notable achievements, I want us to find more opportunities for local companies to train the citizens of the Mountain Kingdom and export high-quality, valuable goods to the United States.
This is why the Biden-Harris Administration fully supports reauthorizing AGOA, as the benefits of the legislation are set to expire in 2025. The U.S. Congress holds the pen on reauthorization, and we are committed to working closely with Congress to ensure this impactful legislation remains relevant.
Policy tools like AGOA are meant to be used, tested, and sharpened over time — which is the driving purpose of the AGOA Forum being held this week in Johannesburg.
Every year, the U.S. Trade Representative and trade ministers from every country that participates in AGOA come together to take stock of their work together and find opportunities to do more. This convening is an opportunity to gauge progress to date and, perhaps more importantly, discuss if we can improve AGOA to better serve more Basotho and Americans.
Not only that, the Forum is a catalyst to convene a broader community. Government officials, civil society and labor leaders, and private sector investors all come together from across the Continent and the United States with a shared goal of using trade to create better opportunities.
This is a valuable moment in Lesotho’s economic engagement with the United States, and I look forward to a robust, forward-looking conversation at the AGOA Forum –and beyond.
