Question NW3785 to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
24 November 2023 - NW3785
De Villiers, Mr JN to ask the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
With reference to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and its impact on the small business sector in the Republic, what are the details of the (a) total number of small businesses currently integrated into the AGOA value chain, (b) total number of jobs created in the small business sector as a direct result of participation in the AGOA value chain and (c) quantifiable impact the involvement has had on our Republic’s economic growth?
Reply:
In 2022 South Africa’s goods exports to the United States amounted to about US$14.4 billion. Of this, 21% ($3 billion) entered the US under AGOA. Over the recent five years since 2018, on average 16% of SA exports entered the US under AGOA.
Some sectors utilise AGOA for a significant portion of their US exports. I attach a revised copy of a presentation made to a joint meeting of the Portfolio and Select Committees of Parliament on 26 September 2023.
Both the SA and US data sets do not distinguish exports/imports by company size and employment and also do not record the suppliers of inputs into the production of the exported/imported products.
The Impact of AGOA on economic growth will require detailed research, and will not be definitive, as a number of factors influence trade performance, for example changes in the exchange rate of the currency.
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