AGOA enters Chicken Wars

As the review date of the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) approaches, some groups in the United States (US) want South Africa to be excluded from the list of beneficiaries. AGOA is a non-reciprocal preferential trade granted to African countries by the United States. It was introduced in 2000 to improve trade relations with African countries. It is due for review in September 2015. In 2013, some US food and agricultural associations accused South Africa of imposing protectionist and antidumping measures against the US chicken products. They sent a letter to the US Congress registering their objection to South Africa’s inclusion beyond September 2015. It is understood that protectionism refers to the antidumping duties which South Africa has imposed on frozen chicken imports from the US since 2000.

However, the US is not the only country affected by South Africa’s application of antidumping duties. According to Trade Law Centre (Tralac), South Africa has investigated more than 200 antidumping cases since 1995. Towards the end of 2013, South Africa increased tariffs on various chicken products originating from Brazil, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Furthermore, investigations are continuing for alleged dumping of chicken products from three European Union members, namely, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For more on chicken wars, click here.