Trade Minister woos US business leaders to Ghana

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Kobina Tahiru Hammond, has called on busi­ness leaders in the United States of America to take interest and invest in the agenda of the Government of Ghana for indutrialisation.

He said by partnering in the government’s agenda such as the flagship One District One Factory would be the mutual benefit of their businesses and Ghana as well.

• Mr Hammond (third from right) with members of CCA

Mr Hammond who is on an offi­cial visit to Washington, D.C, made the call when he visited the offices of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as part of his visit.

He said the 1D1F initiative was one with a huge potential of part­nership which could be employed as a mechanise by U.S. businesses to access the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.

In separate discussions with the two entities, the minister said the purpose of the visits was to famil­iarise himself with the workings and priorities of the two bodies in order to explore opportunities for collaboration and support.

He added that the government was also encouraging garment manufacturers to set up in Ghana, citing Dignity DTRT as an example of a garment manufacturer which had established a state-of-the art garment factory and had a linkage with an American company that is importing its garments.

Mr Hammond expressed concern about the expiration of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and what the Cham­ber could do to help push for its renewal.

He said “the no sign of renew­al” had got Ghanaian textile and garment dealers very concerned due to the negative impact it could have on their businesses.

The President of the Corporate Council for Africa, Ms Florizelle (Florie) Liser, highlighted the long­standing relationship of her entity with Africa and Ghana in particular.

She informed the minister that the Council hosted the Annual U.S-Africa Business Summit and same would take place this year at Dallas, Texas.

She said the President, Nana Addo Dankwa had been invited to attend as a key speaker at the event.

Ms Liser explained that a key feature of this year’s event was the collaboration with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on a special 20th anniversary celebra­tion on the margins of the summit in Dallas where they would be hosting former President George H.W. Bush, who established MCC.

On the minister’s request for more advocacy on the extension of AGOA, she said the Council had already engaged with Members of the House Ways and Means Committee, (which is the trade committee at the U.S. House of Representatives), on the subject and advocated for its extension.

She remarked that this was very crucial because about three years ago, Ghana doubled its exports of apparel under AGOA due to the establishment of the Tema textiles enclave, highlighting the impor­tance of AGOA to Ghana.

On his part, Dr Guevera Yao, Vice President, U.S.-Africa Busi­ness Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, touched on the im­portance the Biden administration placed on the diaspora as a group capable of transforming Africa.

He said the administration had set up the President’s Council on African Diaspora Engagement (PAC-ADE) tasked with giving the President advice on how to engage the diaspora to do more in Africa.

The CCA is a 30-year-old Busi­ness Association whose members are both U.S and African compa­nies, including SMEs and multi­nationals, and primarily advocates for U.S trade, investments and business with Africa, including Ghana.

 BY TIMES REPORTER