US signs key AGOA provision into law

Last Friday, the US Senate Committee on Finance confirmed the signing of the bill containing the renewal of the Third Country Fabric (TCF) provision to September 2015.

The signing is expected to boost the competitiveness of the textile sectors of the 40 African states benefitting from AGOA. The TCF in AGOA, through which Botswana companies exported US$15.5 million (P115 million) to the US in goods in 2011, was set to expire in September, with US orders for African textiles drying up ahead of the date as buyers looked elsewhere. Yesterday, officials at Carapparel Botswana, the country's sole AGOA textile exporter, told Business Week the signing into law of the TCF's renewal was a ray of hope in a sector traditionally plagued by challenges.