Namibia: Ministry Hosts AGOA Capacity-Building Workshops

23 June 2022
The Namibian (Windhoek)
By Matthew Dlamini

THE Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade and the United States Agencey for International Development (Usaid) Trade Hub held two African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa) capacity-building workshops in Windhoek on 8 and 15 June.

The purpose of the workshops was to provide an overview of Agoa key principles, export opportunities, and of the requirements to successfully export to the United States (US) market.

The workshops came on the heels of the Namibia-US trade forum, which the ministry held in Windhoek early this month.

The trade forum was attended by a trade delegation from the US.

According to a statement issued by Elijah Mukubonda, the trade ministry's chief information officer, Sikongo Haihambo, the executive director, and Stephanie Reed of the US embassy in Namibia addressed the workshops.

The sessions were conducted in a hybrid format and were attended by the Namibian business community, exporting companies and government officials.

Agoa is a non-reciprocal unilateral US trade law providing eligible products from sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the US market.

After its initial 15-year period of validity, Agoa was extended in 2015 by 10 years to September 2025.

"The workshop on 8 June provided participants with relevant information on the overview of market entry requirements for Agoa, with discussions focused on the Food and Drug Administration Act with regards to compliance, food safety and standards," said the statement.

The workshop on 15 June provided participants with appropriate facts on export procedures to the US through dual expositions made by Namibia's customs experts and the US Customs and Border Protection, respectively.

"During the second workshop, participants developed a road map for 2022/23 on the activities to assist the Agoa national steering committee in implementing its utilisation strategy.

"Both hybrid events were a resounding success in terms of attendance, participation, presentations, participants' contributions, and meaningful exposure," Mukubonda said.

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Read the original article on Namibian.

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