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While the American Congress is scheduled to examine the opportunity to renew the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) in 2025, the Malagasy delegation that left for Washington for the USA-Africa summit pleaded for its renewal in 2023. This plea made during A ministerial meeting within the framework of the summit stressed that the absence of AGOA would have significant negative repercussions. Madagascar has indeed already experienced this between 2010 and 2013.
It was the Minister of Industrialization, Trade and Consumer Affairs, Edgard Razafindravahy, who carried the Malagasy plea during the ministerial meeting on the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) within the framework of the Summit of United States Leaders. United -Africa. From the outset, the Malagasy position is the renewal of this law on Growth and Development Opportunities in Africa from the year 2023, even if the examination of its renewal is so far only scheduled for 2025. Malagasy minister, among other things, underlined that the absence of AGOA would have enormous negative repercussions, after emphasizing the contributions of the program and insisting on the visibility that a renewal from 2023 would offer for investors and the target sectors.
The United States recently assisted Madagascar in developing a national AGOA strategy for 2022-2025. It provides recommendations for addressing governance issues, infrastructure deficiencies, and key business operating environment issues for all sectors, not just those benefiting from AGOA. This “ambitious” strategy would better position Madagascar to seek stronger investments, such as a contract from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, explains the United States Ambassador to Madagascar. The strategy consists on the one hand of removing the brakes on industrialization and on the other hand of improving and extending AGOA to new sectors.
During the meeting in Washington, the Malagasy side also presented the large-scale projects carried out in the country to make Madagascar a land of investment, including the extension of the port of Toamasina, the construction of hydroelectric power stations, and the construction of the first highway. The investment bill developed with the private sector with the support of the World Bank, and the industrial programming law initiative, were also highlighted during the meeting. It was for the Malagasy leaders to convince the authorities and the American private actors to perpetuate the commercial and economic relationship between the two countries.
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The United States is currently Madagascar’s second largest trading partner after France, and bilateral trade has already topped $800 million this year, marking a return to pre-pandemic trade levels. Additionally, the United States is the largest market for two of Madagascar’s most important exports: textiles and vanilla. These exports enter the United States duty-free through the African Growth and Opportunities Act, or AGOA, and the General System of Preferences, or GSP.
