Lagos — The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has released a series of reports intended to assist the current administration of President George Bush in developing a comprehensive trade and development policy for the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
The report tagged, "US.-Trade and Investment with Sub-Saharan Africa," the third in the series, is allegedly a compilation of facts limited to the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The current report provided an update for 2001 on US.-SSA trade and investment flows in major sectors; information on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA); a discussion of major developments in trade and economic policies that significantly affected US.-SSA bilateral trade and investment; an update on progress in regional integration in sub-Saharan Africa; and a compilation of multilateral assistance, US. bilateral assistance and trade-related initiatives related to sub-Saharan Africa. The report also contained economic profiles for each of the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa and sector profiles for five major SSA export sectors: agricultural, fisheries, and forest products; chemicals; petroleum and energy related products; minerals and metals; and textiles and apparel. Some of the highlights of the report included the fact that, in 2001, a decrease in US. imports from, and an increase in exports to, sub-Saharan Africa resulted in a 13.9 percent decrease in the long-standing US. trade deficit with the region. The 2001 deficit allegedly measured $14.3 billion, with much of its decrease due to a 58.8 percent increase in US. exports of transportation equipment and a 20 percent rise in machinery products.
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