Trade and Industry Minister, Dr Rob Davies, has arrived in Libreville, Gabon, where he will attend the 14th African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) Forum.

Minister Davies will attend the forum themed “Agoa at 15: Charting for a sustainable US-Africa Trade and Investment Partnership”.

The Agoa, is a unilateral preferential programme for about 6 400 tariff lines, including those provided by Generalised System of Preference (GSP) that the US offers to 38 African sub-Saharan countries.

The current Agoa is due to expire at the end of September and the US congress recently voted for the continuation of the programme for another 15 years with South Africa included as a beneficiary country.

However, the new Agoa Act called for out-of-cycle review of the eligibility of South Africa to receive the benefits under Agoa.

Minister Davies said that South Africa has made tremendous progress in addressing concerns that were raised by the US.

Various initiatives have been taken towards resolving market access issues relating to beef, pork and poultry.

“On 24 June 2015, Cabinet took a decision to lift a trade restriction on cattle and products of bovine origin from countries that previously reported Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), including the US.

“Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Senzeni Zokwana, has written to his US counterpart, Secretary Tom Vilsack on 6 August 2015, to announce that South Africa has lifted trade restrictions on cattle and products of bovine origin from the US,” said Minister Davies on Wednesday.

On the pork issue, the Minister said that the animal health authorities of both governments have been undertaking the necessary technical work to ensure safe trade from at least three diseases, namely, Trichinella, Porcine Reproductive & Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and Aujesky.

“The two countries made good progress on certificates on pork destined for unrestricted sale and for further processing. South Africa agreed that a significant number of recognizable pork cuts were categorized as low risk and were now accepted for unrestricted sale conditions.

“In short, South Africa has made significant progress, and continues to make progress on addressing the market access interests and regulatory concerns of the US on beef, chicken and pork through an agreed framework and existing channels of communication with the United States,” said Minister Davies.

The Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with the United States Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman, US Congressional delegations, and the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, Cathy Novelli.

Additionally, South African Ambassador to the US, Mninwa Mahlangu, is also attending the Forum which will conclude tomorrow.

The Forum is an annual event held on a rotating basis between the United States and Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The 13th Agoa Forum was hosted by the US in Washington, in 2014.