Cape Town – The South African Communist Party (SACP) on Monday said it supported the South African government in its stand-off with the United States over the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
United States President Barack Obama last week notified the South African government and the US Congress that he intended to suspend the duty-free access of all South African agricultural products into the US market from January.
However, Washington gave Pretoria 60 days to eliminate its health barriers on imports of US poultry, pork and beef to avoid the implementation of the suspension.
In a statement issued on Monday, the SACP said Agoa was presented as a non-reciprocal trade and investment policy aimed at boosting economic growth and development in Sub-Saharan Africa through favourable preferential treatment for imports from eligible countries without reciprocal measures to advantage US exports.
“However, in reality, Agoa is imperialist both in terms of its content and strategic goal disguised under the fetishist illusion of ‘free market’. Its extraterritorial imperialist content is now being aggressively pushed by the US against South Africa.”
The SACP said the intent on the part of the Obama administration to suspend South Africa’s agricultural sector products from Agoa’s market access “benefits” in the US was that “South Africa is not making continual progress toward the elimination of barriers to United States trade and investment as required by section 104 of AGOA”.
“The SACP is strongly opposed to, and rejects, imperialist domination in its entirety and all its manifestations.”
“Contrary to presentation of Agoa as a trade and investment policy offering non-reciprocal market access benefits in the US to eligible countries in view of historical and persisting international economic imbalances, now the US wants disproportionate access to South Africa’s poultry, beef and pork markets. In addition, the US has displayed an aggressive attitude towards South Africa’s insistence on best practices relating to animal health and the health of South Africans in terms of such products.”
The SACP added that it commended the departments of Trade and Industry, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and health experts for the “meticulous handling of the trade negotiations with the US despite being held under the Agoa duress by the administration of that country”.
“South Africa has been able to resist unfair demands by the US - which seeks to destroy our country’s legitimate anti-dumping duties,” it said.
African News Agency
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