American businesses seem to be only beginning to wake up to the economic potential here. Why does that matter? Because trade often benefits a country more than aid. I’m a strong supporter of foreign aid, but economic growth and jobs are ultimately the most sustainable way to raise living standards.
Trade and enterprise have the power to change people’s lives. As we are seeing now on every continent, what will lift tens of millions out of poverty in the long run is the dynamic engine of economic growth. And that means African countries buying from and selling to each other, doing business with one another and the world.
The five-nation East African Community (EAC) regional bloc made up of regional economic giant Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda, formed a common market last July to increase trade through free movement of goods, services, capital and people across borders.
American diplomats, Clinton said, are working in countries around the world to break down barriers for U.S. companies to compete in global markets and she suggested new markets in the developing world present a new opportunity for export. She cited Open Skies agreements with countries that allow create new flight routes overseas from American cities, creating jobs near the airports. A new direct flight from Memphis to Amsterdam has had a $120 million impact on Tennessee’s economy and supports over 2,200 local jobs, she said.
“You may not see the Chinese but you can see the stadiums and the roads and everything they have built,” says Lawrence Brahm, a Beijing-based political columnist. “The jury on their role in Africa’s development is out. I still think that the great game between China and the West will be played out in Africa.”
35 minute video.
When my husband signed the African Growth and Opportunities Act back in 2000, there were a lot of people who said this will never work, there is just not the environment in which it can take hold. But in fact, in 10 years, we have seen the trade between the United States and Africa quadruple…
But within the $4 billion now of trade, there are many different businesses with products and services that are being sold into the American market. At the same time, what we said at the very successful forum hosted here in Lusaka is that we want to take a hard look at what we can do better, not only from the U.S. perceptive – we are ready to do that – but also from the African perspective.
“In our global economy, progress in even the poorest countries can advance the prosperity and security of people far beyond their borders, including my fellow Americans,” President Barack Obama said at the U.N. Millennium Development Goals Summit in September. The president realizes that economic development and progress lead to food security, better health, greater prosperity, enhanced standards of living and political stabilization which, in a global context, benefit all. Hence, working with developing countries to build modern, knowledge-based, innovative economies is the logical next step. The case of Africa is beyond logic; it is urgent.
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – African leaders on Sunday signed an agreement to launch talks on the continent’s biggest free-trade bloc, a $875 billion (597 billion euros) market seeking to boost the region’s economies. The so-called “Grand” Free Trade Area would cross 26 countries, stretching from Cape Town to Cairo, with a combined population of 700 million people. “We meet fully conscious of the collective responsibility we bear towards Africa’s founding fathers to create a single continental market of real economic value,” said South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma during the opening. The proposed free trade area (FTA) would join three existing, and sometimes overlapping, blocs to maximise Africa’s budding economic prospects.
This important trade policy has facilitated importation of more than $4 billion worth of African products, not including oil, into the US each year and helped provide jobs and grow the economies of several African countries. It has increased investment in the manufacturing industries on the continent and most importantly increased family incomes and reduction of poverty in many communities. For Americans, it means more choices and new products, and with the continued growth of African economies, new markets for American products, which is good for our economic recovery and US job creation.
