PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

Ambassador Robin Sanders Commissions Nigeria’s First AGOA Shipment

Date: July 17, 2008
Venue: Lagos

Ambassador Robin Sanders at the Commissioning program | Full size

The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms. Robin R. Sanders commissioned a shipment of garments and food products bound for the United States under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). These are the first Nigerian products exported to the United States under AGOA and represent a new era of trade between the two countries.

During her speech at The F&D Garment Manufacturing Company the Ambassador praised the Nigerian business community and noted her satisfaction in seeing Nigerian businesses take increased advantage of AGOA trade opportunities—especially in non-oil industries.

“I also want to use this opportunity to mention the work that F&D is doing with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council at the AGOA Center to help train and build the capacity of a new cadre of emerging SME garment manufacturers in an effort to expand and most importantly to diversify Nigeria’s exports more into the non-oil sector.  This is an important step on the Nigerian side.”

The Ambassador also underscored the importance the Government of the United States “places not only on the existing business linkages between our two nations but also on creating new ones like this one under our framework for partnership with Nigeria.”

Signed in 2000, AGOA provides trade preferences for quota and duty-free entry of 6,500 different goods into the United States. It reinforces African reform efforts, provides improved access to U.S. credit and technical expertise, and establishes a high-level dialogue on trade and investment in the form of a U.S.-Sub-Saharan  Africa Trade and Economic Forum.

For more information on AGOA, please visit: http://www.agoa.gov/