US lawmakers have urged the White House to move this year’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) summit away from South Africa. This is in response to Pretoria’s close ties with Moscow and allegations that the country supplied weapons to Russia. In this 702 interview, SAIIA’s Head of the African Governance and Diplomacy Programme Steven Gruzd says such calls should not be taken lightly by any means. According to him, about 30% of the country’s exports are covered by AGOA, including fruits, vegetables, metals, mining equipment and most importantly the automotive industry and getting access to the lucrative US market.
