Good morning everyone.
Let me welcome you to the 2016 African Growth and Opportunity
Act Forum.
And I'd like to say a special welcome
to a large number of people, and if I leave you out,
it's just because there are so many of you in the room.
But I want to start by welcoming the trade and labor ministers
and heads of regional economic communities that have travelled
from across Africa.
Thank you so much for being here.
I'd like to welcome His Excellency Mwencha, who
is the deputy chair of the African Union Commission;
the Honorable Ambassador Amina Mohammed from Kenya;
U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. delegation lead Ambassador
Michael Froman; Her Excellency Madeleine Berre from Gabon;
and Congresswoman Karen Bass.
We're also thrilled to have with us Fellows
from the President's Young African Leaders
Initiative (YALI) from Tanzania, Liberia, and Ethiopia;
African Women's Entrepreneurship Program
(AWEP) members from throughout Africa;
AGOA Civil Society Network members; members
of the President's Advisory Council on Doing
Business in Africa as well as USTR's Trade Advisory
Council on Africa; CEOs and senior executives from U.S.
and African businesses; and members
of the public throughout Africa and the United States watching
these proceedings via livestreaming
on video.state.gov.
So thank you so much to all of you for taking the time
to be with us here today.
The AGOA Forum remains our only annual U.S.-Africa Ministerial,
and we are so honored and excited to host you here
at the Department of State.
The theme of this year's AGOA Forum is
'Maximizing U.S.-Africa Trade and Investment'.
That is the task and opportunity in front of all of us today.
Judging by the fantastic turnout - the room is practically full
- that we have here today, the great lineup of events,
we all know how important this is.
Since 2000, AGOA has been the cornerstone
of U.S. economic policy in Africa.
And it's having great success.
Non-petroleum exports from Africa to the United States
have grown from $1.3 billion in 2000 to $4.1 billion in 2015.
And U.S. investment in sub-Saharan Africa
rose from $9 billion in 2001 to more than $34 billion in 2014.
Last year's reauthorization of AGOA was huge news
and provided momentum to expand trade and investment.
We are capitalizing on this momentum.
We've seen some great signs that more investors and more African
countries are taking advantage of trade preferences
under AGOA.
Let me share a few examples.
U.S. textile conglomerate Phillips Van Heusen
is investing in a $1 billion industrial park
in Ethiopia that is expected to employ 50,000 new workers.
Namibia this year became the first African country
authorized to export organic beef
cuts to buyers such as McDonalds in the United States.
Companies in Ghana have developed new channels
for exporting fresh-cut fruit and fashion
garments to the United States.
These are just a few of countless examples
of countries and companies seizing the opportunities
offered by AGOA.
And if that's not enough momentum for you
- just look at some of the events
we've had in just the last week alone.
President Obama hosted the second U.S.-Africa Business
Forum in New York.
Almost all of your heads of state were present.
The Corporate Council on Africa hosted a side event
featuring AGOA success stories in business and manufacturing.
The first-ever Labor and Trade Ministerial meeting
provided a forum for discussing how labor standards can
strengthen the business climate, promote
inclusive economic growth, and attract investment.
Members of AWEP, the African Women's Entrepreneurship
Program, ended a study tour with a panel
focused on boosting women's entrepreneurship.
The Civil Society Forum brought together
leading non-governmental and diaspora organizations
to share ideas for reinforcing efforts under AGOA
and upholding AGOA's eligibility criteria.
Power Africa Coordinator Andy Herscowitz hosted an event
updating us on Power Africa's progress
in making the African power sector more
attractive to the private sector.
And this morning, our Ambassador for Global Women's Issues Cathy
Russell and our U.S. Chamber of Commerce
hosted a Ministerial breakfast highlighting the crucial role
of women in AGOA.
So clearly, this is an important moment
that we are taking advantage of.
And it all leads us to where we are right now.
There are many reasons why today's Forum is important,
but I'll highlight one in particular - Africa's youth
bulge.
This is in my view the number one challenge facing Africa.
Almost 70 percent of Africans are under 25 years old,
and Africa's labor force is projected to increase
to 830 million people by 2050.
This is a challenge for us, but it's also an opportunity
that we have to take advantage of.
We have to create opportunity for this next generation.
This will require an all-encompassing effort.
Expanding trade and investment will
be at the center of that effort, because that is
what will generate employment.
But the youth bulge should not only be seen as a challenge,
as I noted earlier.
It is an opportunity.
Take manufacturing, for example.
Given rapid urbanization and a burgeoning labor force,
Africa is positioned to become a manufacturing powerhouse.
A recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute
indicated that by 2025, Africa could nearly
double its current manufacturing output of $500 billion
to almost $1 trillion.
That's an incredible opportunity.
AGOA is playing a big role in helping
to make this a reality by eliminating tariffs
on thousands of products.
But the manufacturing boom won't happen automatically.
It will require decisive action by African countries
to improve the environment for manufacturers.
Today's session gives us the opportunity
to share ideas on some of these key actions needed
to spur manufacturing and to push growth.
So where do we go from here?
How do we expand the benefits of AGOA?
How do we truly maximize U.S.-Africa trade
and investment?
Two key focus areas have to be youth and women.
We need to build up youth entrepreneurship.
The next generation will be the ones who
will drive growth in Africa.
Fortunately, Africa's youth are talented,
and they are motivated.
And I see this regularly when I meet YALI Fellows.
And as I said, there are some of them in the room.
Where are you, YALI Fellows?
Let's give them a hand of applause.
Because they really will be the engine of growth in the future.
But we need to provide opportunity
for these young people so that they
can use the talent and the motivations
that they have to help their countries grow.
Equally important, we have to support women entrepreneurs.
This morning's meeting was a great opportunity
to share ideas on how we can do that.
Africa's success depends on including women
in all aspects of society.
Countries simply cannot afford to exclude half
of their population.
Programs like AWEP are making a major impact
supporting women entrepreneurs.
We need to maintain this focus and look
for ways to expand it together.
We need to work harder to expand AGOA benefits to more
countries and more industries.
To do this, we encourage countries
to develop and implement focused AGOA utilization strategies.
Countries that have done this have had the most success
in expanding exports under AGOA.
We should build on the progress made at last week's U.S.-Africa
Business Forum to generate more business opportunities
in Africa.
And toward this end, we should work together
to eliminate barriers to trade and investment,
develop a sound enabling environment for businesses,
and to make companies feel welcome to your countries.
We also need to support regional economic integration.
According to the World Economic Forum,
only 12 percent of total African exports
go to regional neighbors.
Greater regional integration can help
strengthen competitiveness, attract investment,
and integrate Africa into the global market.
There's a huge market right next door
that you need to be able to take advantage of,
even before you take advantage of the markets
across the oceans.
Finally, we should begin to discuss policy options
for expanding our trade and investment
relationships beyond AGOA.
USTR has released a "Beyond AGOA" report
to launch this discussion and we welcome your ideas
on the options for moving forward.
Today's session will provide us the opportunity
to discuss all of these challenges
to build a stronger trade and investment relationship
under AGOA and beyond.
We can do this, and we will.
But it will require the active participation of all of us.
This is a team sport.
We can't do it alone.
We have to work together.
AGOA is having great success, and
with our continued commitment, there
will be many more successes to come in the future.
Thank you so much, and I look forward
to having a great day of engagement with all of you