Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi, has called on the government to urgently support exporters following the expiry of a U.S. trade programme that gave African goods duty-free access to American markets.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) expired on 30 September, ending more than two decades of preferential trade terms for Sub-Saharan African countries.
Analysts warn that the loss of the programme could deliver a blow to Ghanaian manufacturers who relied on it to sell into the U.S.
“Government has a huge responsibility. The first step is to call a conference and bring all exporters and manufacturers together to give them comfort and chart a new path,” said Baafi, a former deputy trade minister and ranking member of parliament’s trade committee.
He cautioned that exporters who had already planned production and budgets around U.S. demand would face “severe shocks” without immediate intervention.
Baafi said Africa’s best alternative lies in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a pact signed by 54 countries and ratified by 47, which aims to create a single market for goods and services.
“AfCFTA has come to stay. The African market of over 3 billion people is even bigger than the American market,” he said, urging exporters to redirect trade to regional partners and build supply chains across the continent.
The lawmaker warned that failure to strengthen exports could trigger economic instability.
“Without export, Ghana will be in trouble. Our foreign exchange regime will come to a halt. A strong export sector is the only way to stabilise the cedi,” he said.
“We as Africans must not sit down for other countries to come and take advantage. AfCFTA is the biggest customs union in the world today, and African exporters must own it,” he added.
