New Agoa deadline set as Obama announces SA suspension date
Cape Town – South Africa has until March 15 to fully comply with the US import of poultry as well as other meat.
This is the new deadline that has been set for South Africa, after US President Barack Obama on Monday ordered the suspension of duty-free treatment to all Agoa-eligible goods in the agricultural sector from South Africa, effective on March 15.
The suspension will be revoked should South Africa comply with the requirements to ensure the imports are on SA shelves, sources said. It is in effect another 60-day deadline for South Africa, after it concluded negotiations over health issues last week. That could happen within a month, but does put added pressure on the country to comply.
Obama was expected to make this announcement last Tuesday, after South Africa failed to meet a previous 60-day deadline set by him to finalise negotiations around US meat imports, failing which he said he would suspend certain duty free tariffs on goods that benefit from the African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa).
The act, renewed by US lawmakers in June, eliminates import levies on more than 7 000 products ranging from textiles to manufactured items and benefits 39 sub-Saharan African nations.