Trade Minister sells Ghana’s industrialisation agenda to US investors

Kobina Tahir Hammond, Minister of Trade and Industry, has urged United States (US) investors to explore mutually beneficial trade ventures with Ghanaian counterparts through the government’s industrialisation agenda.

He cited the 1D1F initiative as one of the potential areas of partnership that US businesses could consider, saying the programme had very attractive incentive packages.

The Minister, who is on an official visit to Washington, DC, the developed country’s capital, made the call when he visited the offices of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) and the US Chamber of Commerce.

In separate discussions with the two entities, the Minister said the purpose of the visits was to familiarise himself with the workings and priorities of the two bodies in order to explore opportunities for collaboration and support.

He added that the government was also encouraging garment manufacturers to set up in Ghana, citing Dignity DTRT as an example of a garment manufacturer which had established a state-of-the art garment factory and had a linkage with an American company that was importing its garments.

The Minister, however, expressed concern about the expiry of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and urged the Chamber to help push for its renewal.

He said Ghanaian textile and garment dealers were very concerned about the impact the possible expiry of AGOA could have on their businesses.

Since its enactment in 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been at the core of US economic policy and commercial engagement with Africa, according to the official website of US Trade Representative.

AGOA provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. market for over 1,800 products, in addition to the more than 5,000 products that are eligible for duty-free access under the Generalized System of Preferences program.

To meet AGOA’s rigorous eligibility requirements, countries must establish or make continual progress toward establishing a market-based economy, the rule of law, political pluralism, and the right to due process.

Additionally, countries must eliminate barriers to US trade and investment, enact policies to reduce poverty, combat corruption, and protect human rights.

“By providing new market opportunities, AGOA has helped bolster economic growth, promoted economic and political reform, and improved U.S. economic relations in the region,” the website notes.

Thirty two countries are eligible for AGOA benefits in 2024.

In 2015, Congress passed legislation modernising and extending the programme to 2025.

For her part, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporate Council for Africa, Ms. Florizelle (Florie) Liser, highlighted the longstanding relationship of her entity with Ghana, noting that the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had once been the guest of the Council.

She informed the Minister that the Council hosted the Annual US-Africa Business Summit, and that of 2024 would take place in Dallas, Texas.

Ghana’s President has been invited to attend it.

She said a key feature of this year’s event is a collaboration with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on a special 20th anniversary celebration on the margins of the summit in Dallas, where they would be hosting former President George Bush, who established the MCC.

Ghana is one of the first countries to have a compact from MCC.

On the Minister’s request for more advocacy on the extension of AGOA, she said the Council had already engaged with Members of the House’s Ways and Means Committee, (which is the trade committee at the US House of Representatives), on the subject and advocated for its extension.

She explained that this was very crucial because about threeyears ago, Ghana doubled its exports of apparel under AGOA due to the establishment of the Tema Textiles enclave.

She highlighted the importance of AGOA to Ghana.

At the meeting with U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Rick Wade, Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Outreach at the US Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber was working on an initiative dubbed: “Advance with Africa”, a roadshow to reach out to the 2.6 million black-owned businesses in the US to invest in Africa, particularly, Ghana.

He assured the Minister that the US Chamber of Commerce was ready to work with him to strengthen business ties between US and Ghana.

Dr Guevera Yao, Vice President, U.S.-Africa Business Centerof the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the Biden Administration prioritised the diaspora as a group capable of transforming Africa.

The administration has thus set up the President’s Council on African Diaspora Engagement (PAC-ADE) tasked with giving the President advice on how to engage the Diaspora to do more in Africa.

The CCA is a 30-year old Business Association whose members are both U.S. and African companies, including SMEs and multinationals.

It primarily advocates for US trade, investments and business with Africa.