麻豆约拍

A trade deal that gives exporters in Africa tariff free access to the United States expires in four years, but pressure to extend it, or replace it, is being exerted now, long before the deadline.

Many businesses across the continent have benefited from The African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, but experts believe the US may want to update it with a new arrangement for free trade in both directions.

In this extended report Russell Padmore examines the factors that influence American economic policy towards Africa.

(Picture Textile manufacturing in Kenya. Luis Tato/AFP )