非洲的增长与机遇

Policy Research Working Paper Growth and Opportunity for Africa The World Bank Africa Growth and Opportunity:Research in Action ConferencePublic Disclosure Authorized Florizelle LiserLaird Treiber Development Economics Vice PresidencyOffice of the Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Policy Research Working Paper11277 Abstract This paper examines whether the African Growth andOpportunity Act—the United States’ unilateral trade pref‑erence program for Sub‑Saharan Africa—has served as aneffective instrument for development and what its modern‑ization should entail. The study synthesizes 25 years of theAfrican Growth and Opportunity Act experience using U.S.International Trade Commission and related trade statistics,complemented by sectoral and country case studies. Thefindings indicate that while overall U.S.–Africa two‑waytrade remains modest ($48.7 billion in 2024, below its2008 peak), the African Growth and Opportunity Act’s value chains have deepened, notably in Southern Africa’sautomotive industry, where South Africa’s African Growthand Opportunity Act–eligible auto exports (~$2.6 billion)integrate components from neighbors such as Botswana andLesotho. Nonetheless, supply‑side bottlenecks, limited firmawareness, and uncertainty from time‑limited reauthoriza‑tions and annual eligibility reviews have constrained uptake.The policy implications are threefold: (i) reauthorize theAfrican Growth and Opportunity Act on a long horizonto reduce uncertainty and encourage investment; (ii) align The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about developmentissues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry thenames of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those Growth and Opportunity for AfricaThe World Bank Africa Growth and Opportunity: Research in Action ConferenceFlorizelle LiserPresident and CEO for Corporate Council for AfricaandLaird TreiberDirector of Trade and Investment Programs at the Corporate Council on Africa JEL Classification Codes: F13: Trade Policy, International Trade OrganizationsF15: Economic IntegrationF50: International Relations and International Economics: General Introduction I am Florie Liser, President and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa, or CCA, and I amhonored to have been invited to deliver the keynote address for the 2025 Africa Growth andOpportunity: Research in Action (AGORA) conference. I congratulate the World Bank Group, theBank of Italy and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Italy on putting together such a timelyevent focused on what works, and what does not, in terms of creating the jobs Africa needs to turn The organizers asked me to address the topic of “the African Growth and Opportunity Act(AGOA): Achievements and Future Pathways,” including reflecting on its accomplishments and I am delighted to try to answer those very important questions this morning. As the President of a Washington-based trade association promoting U.S.-Africa trade andinvestment, I have a strong belief in the power of trade and investment to create jobs, innovation,and economic growth. Before assuming my current position at CCA 8 years ago, I spent 36 yearsworking in the U.S. government, 23 of which were in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Drawing from that perspective, I will suggest to you today that AGOA has been more successfulthan is commonly appreciated. Perhaps more importantly, AGOA is very much the right tool tosupport the creation of regional and continental value chains under the African Continental FreeTrade Area (AfCFTA), suggesting that AGOA’s future impact may be much greater. All that said,it is also time for the United States to work with its African partners to create a stronger trade andinvestment relationship that truly goes in both directions and builds on AGOA but goes “beyondAGOA,” as both African leaders and senior officials in the U.S. government have called for. There That is a lot to put on the table. Let me begin unpacking these elements with a brief look at what AGOA is and what has happenedover its 25-year history. AGOA went into effect in 2000 and offers duty-free access to the U.S. market for 1,800 goods ontop of 5,100 goods included in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. There arecurrently 32 eligible countries (of 49 Sub-Saharan African countries). In 2024, two-way U.S.-African trade in goods totaled US$48.7 billion, broken down into US$30 billion in U.S. importsfrom Africa and US$18.7 billion in exports to Africa. Of those US$30 billion in imports, US$7.9billion came in under AGOA and US$364 million came in under the GSP. The top categories of Critiques of AGOA’s Effectiveness What do those numbers tell us? Many critiques of AGOA argue that th