White House Launches New Africa Trade Initiative
The White House is launching a new trade partnership on July 1 that targets increased economic ties between Africa and the United States. Dubbed Trade Africa, the partnership will initially focus on expanding internal and external trade among East African Community (EAC) countries, according to a White House press release. Building off skyrocketing GDP growth within the EAC over the past decade, the Trade Africa initiative seeks to increase regional exports to the U.S. by 40%, while reducing by 15% the average time needed to import or export cargo from the Mombasa or Dar es Salaam ports, the White House said. The U.S. is also encouraging decreased regional border barriers and the transition to a single EAC customs and revenue sharing authority, it said.
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“The five states of the EAC, with a population of more than 130 million people, have increasingly stable and pro-business regulations,” the press release read. “They are home to promising local enterprises that are forming creative partnerships with multinational companies.”
Trade Africa supplements the U.S.-EAC Trade and Investment Partnership (TIP), announced in June 2012. The initiative will mobilize resources aimed at increasing EAC product standard regulations, primarily food safety and plant and animal health, according to the White House.
The press release said officials are exploring a U.S.-EAC Commercial Dialogue that aims to harmonize private sector activity with state policy. The White House has also commenced negotiations on a U.S.-EAC Trade Facilitation Agreement. The Trade Africa initiative announcement comes as President Barack Obama wraps up the last leg of his Africa tour in Tanzania.