Why African farmers struggle to export to the United States

Seemingly generous trade terms aren’t as helpful as they appear

Hungry americans chomping into one of Philadelphia’s famous cheesesteaks may soon get a taste of Africa. Last week MeatCo, Namibia’s state-owned meat firm, shipped 25 tonnes of beef to Philadelphia. It was the first ever export of red meat from Africa to the United States. Namibian meat producers are delighted. America is the world’s second-biggest meat market; the average American wolfs down more than 100kg a year. Yet this is a rare success. Negotiations began 18 years ago.

The shipment will be duty-free under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (agoa), which was introduced in 2000 to boost economic growth in Africa by stimulating exports to America. Yet 20 years later only about 1% of America’s imports come from sub-Saharan Africa, and much of that is oil. The fact that it took two decades to export a single piece of red meat helps explain why agoa has had so little impact, and how it could be improved.