Top U.S. Trade Official Opens Annual American Chamber of Commerce Summit in Africa

United States Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk presented a keynote address encouraging more trade between the U.S. and Africa.

On June 6, U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania and the East African Community Alfonso E. Lenhardt, opened the second Annual Africa American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) summit in Dar es Salaam. The event featured remarks by visiting U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk, and was also attended by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa, Florie Liser.

The Annual Africa AmCham Summit provides a platform to strengthen ties between both the U.S. and Tanzania and the U.S. and Africa. Representatives from American Chambers of Commerce in Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda attended the summit, which was held from June 6-7.

The event was also attended by African entrepreneurs, representatives from U.S. embassies in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania, as well as representatives from the Department of Defense's Africa Command (AFRICOM), OPIC, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Tanzania was established in August 2010. It grew out of the American Business Association (ABA), which was established in 2005 to promote trade and investment between the United States of America and Tanzania, facilitate business and investment opportunities for U.S.-affiliated companies in Tanzania, encourage cross-cultural interaction between U.S. and Tanzanian business people, offer a forum to address common business issues, and provide resources on doing business in Tanzania.

In his address, Ambassador Lenhardt highlighted AmCham Tanzania's activities over the past year, including events to learn about contracting opportunities with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, financing offerings and financial industry trends, emerging opportunities in the telecommunications sector, and charitable activities to benefit battered women and their children at local shelters.

In his remarks, U.S. Trade Representative Kirk emphasized the considerable untapped potential for greater U.S.-Tanzanian trade, especially in value-added local exports such as apparel, jewelry and handicrafts, all eligible for duty-free access to the U.S. market under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). 

In addition, he shared that sub-Saharan African markets have been identified as having the greatest potential for increased U.S. exports and said the U.S. is cognizant of the need to do more to help American businesses learn about and develop greater opportunities in Africa, recognizing AmCham's leadership in those efforts.