European Academic Research ISSN 2286-4822
ISSN-L 2286-4822
Impact Factor: 3.4546 (UIF)
DRJI Value : 5.9 (B+)
Article Details :
Article Name :
Opportunities and Challenges of African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) on Ethiopia Foreign Trade Development: The Case of Textile & Apparel SubSector
Author Name :
TEFERRI ZEWDIE1, HAILEMARIAM ZEWDIE2
Publisher :
Bridge Center
Article URL :
Abstract :
Ethiopia is one of the Sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries which experienced for Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which allows Sub-Saharan African countries to export qualified products to the U.S market free of tariff and quota. Since 2001, Ethiopia has been utilizing this opportunity by exporting different products, including the textile and apparel products, to US market. And yet, the textile and apparel sub-sector has not fully able to utilize the AGOA like other some SSA countries. Six respondents among those textile and apparel exporters under AGOA, five respondents from Ethiopian Textile and Garment Association, Ethiopian Textile Industry Development Institute, Ministry of Trade (AGOA Representative), AGOA Wega Plus and Ethiopian Inland and Custom Authority (Preferential Trade Desk) were chosen and interviewed and secondary source of data were also applied. The data collected were structured based on opportunities and challenges that can influence the competitiveness of the sub-sector. The study result discovered, the challenges, such as poor financial market, shortage of raw materials, lack of infrastructure, old machineries, and poor firm’s international market strategy and so on, that the exporters has been facing in using AGOA schemes. It is clear such factors that discourage the competitiveness of Ethiopian textile and apparel sub-sector. In contrast, a huge potential of factor endowments, AGOA duty free market access, the Ethiopian government support are the encouraging factors that prompt the sub-sector’s competitiveness. This study reflects on Ethiopia’s experience under AGOA thus far, examines the opportunities and challenges of the Ethiopian textile and apparel industry in achieving the maximum benefits out of the African Growth Opportunity Act, and makes a number of recommendations for both Ethiopian and U.S. policy makers to improve AGOA.
Keywords :
Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, General System Preference, Everything but Arms, Textile and apparel, Ethiopia
Announcements
New Launched Project
onlineresearch
Recommend & Share
Copyright © 2013: www.euacademic.org , Best Viewed in IE7+, Chrome, Mozilla Firefox.