US investors to examine AfCFTA protocols

Scott Eisner, President of the United States (US)-Africa Business Center, says consultations are ongoing for the setting up of platforms for American investors on the continent to examine protocols under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The Head of the leading Advocacy group of the US Chamber of Commerce, which aims to strengthen US-Africa trade relations indicated that the move was to ensure “continuity of regulations across markets.”

“We know that this is an African Trade agreement for Africa but investors around the world should also have opportunity to look at the protocols that are being written,” he said.

Speaking in an interview at the US-Ghana Business Forum, he said that there would be workshops on digital economy, protocols on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) among others to provide insight to members of the US Chamber of Commerce so they could grow with Africa.

The Chamber is the world’s largest business federation representing nearly 3 million companies.

The Deputy Secretary US Department of Commerce, Mr Don Graves, said that the US was committed to fostering a strong, long-term partnership that was respectful, mutual, and prosperous to Ghana and the continent.

“This is not about exploitation, this is about friends and partners who invest with and in each other...,” he said.

An Africa-US relationship, he said, had a unique ability of leveraging the African Diaspora business as investor communities.

He also disclosed that the US Government was developing a commercial engagement plan for Africa known as Africa Commercial Engagement Strategy (ACES) to guide engagement between the US Government and African Private sector and governments.

“This will include spearheading two-way learning activities designed to educate the American business community about infrastructure development opportunities in Africa,” he said.

Mr Herbert Krapa, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, said AfCFTA provided a stimulus for industrial transformation as it addressed the challenges of small fragmented markets and added value to the continent’s abundant resources.

He indicated that the Government was undertaking an enterprise assessment of 180 companies to determine their needs and facilitation support for AfCFTA.