AGOA extension will be good news for Ethiopia’s le - footwearbiz: Lead

News

AGOA extension will be good news for Ethiopia’s leather footwear sector

16/06/2015
The House of Representatives in Washington DC has approved a ten-year renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides duty-free access to the US market for finished products, including footwear, made in qualifying countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The proposed new legislation extending AGOA until 2025 will now go before the US Senate.

Following the vote in mid-June, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) issued a statement welcoming the development. FDRA president, Matt Priest, said: “This legislation is critical to US footwear companies currently sourcing from Africa and those who are looking to source there in the years to come. We expect the Senate to move quickly to pass AGOA and for the President to sign it in the coming days. As countries like Ethiopia are becoming increasingly important as a supplier of footwear to the US, the value of this vital trade programme will only increase.”

FDRA told World Leather that leather shoes were the principal type of footwear coming to the US from Ethiopia under AGOA and that growth in the last four or five years has been impressive.

In 2009, Ethiopian shoe manufacturers exported 10,000 pairs of shoes to the US. The corresponding figure for 2014 was 1.6 million pairs.


Related stories:

USTR to review AGOA eligibility of three countries 28/06/2017
Ethiopian footwear manufacturers aim for global splash 31/01/2017
Ethiopian shoe manufacturers cement export strategies 28/07/2015
US footwear association claims ‘historic win’ 26/06/2015

footwearbiz.com cannot be held responsible for content if the language setting is changed from English.

The translations provided by Google Translate are automated and therefore might not be accurate and may contain incorrect, offensive or misleading language. We offer this facility as a guide only.