South Africa asks US for early renewal of key trade agreement

South Africa asked the US government to consider an early extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act to help stimulate investment across the continent, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel said. The request was made during a visit by South African officials to the US earlier this month to discuss the trade pact and finalize preparations for an AGOA forum that’s scheduled to be hosted in SA this year. An early renewal of AGOA in its current form would be preferable to a revised agreement that may take time to conclude, Patel said in an interview with the Johannesburg-based Business Day newspaper.