For Immediate Release: July 25, 2012
Contact: Mara Lee (202) 482-3809
Obama Trade Official Testifies About U.S.-Africa Trade
Under Secretary Sánchez highlights Commerce efforts to promote trade with Africa
WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Commerce Under Secretary for International Trade Francisco Sánchez today highlighted the International Trade Administration’s (ITA) efforts to increase U.S. trade and investment with Sub-Saharan Africa during testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on African Affairs. The testimony follows President Obama’s announcement last month of a new U.S. strategy for expanding trade and investment with Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The Obama administration is committed to encouraging trade and investment with Sub-Saharan Africa, which is a region rich with emerging opportunities for U.S. exporters,” Sánchez said. “The International Trade Administration is actively engaged in projects and initiatives that support the President’s strategy and provide new opportunities for American businesses to export their goods and services, thereby creating jobs in the United States and strengthening our economy.”
Sánchez will travel to Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa, August 5-7, to advance the President's strategy. During the trip, he will participate in the U.S.-South Africa Strategic Dialogue, organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and meet with key U.S. private sector entities operating in the region.
ITA is integrally involved in developing the “Doing Business in Africa” campaign, a partnership comprised of 20-member agencies of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee. The program includes a special focus on outreach to African communities in the United States to provide information on U.S. programs available for doing business throughout the region.
ITA is also taking steps to establish a U.S.-East African Community Commercial Dialogue (Dialogue) as part of the administration’s new U.S.-EAC trade and investment partnership dialogue. One of the Dialogue’s goals will be to create business opportunities in key sectors through targeted trade and investment promotion activities. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market Access and Compliance Michael Camuñez recently accompanied Michael Froman, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, on a four-country visit to help push forward the initiative.
Additionally, ITA is sponsoring a pair of trade missions to Sub-Saharan Africa in the fall. A September mission will highlight the aerospace sector at the Africa Aerospace and Defense 2012 exhibition in Pretoria, while a November visit to Zambia and South Africa will explore export opportunities in a variety of sectors.
A copy of Sánchez’s testimony will be available at www.trade.gov/press/testimony/. For more information about the upcoming trade missions, please visit www.export.gov/trademissons.
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