Africa Sourcing and the AGOA Extension

"AGOA Provision Related to the Third Country Fabric Provision Anticipated to Pass Congress Next Week"

    

     --  Staff Member, U.S. Senator Menendez' office in DC

This week I attended TEXWORLD in NYC, which is a textiles and apparel trade show open to those of us in the industry and the public at large. 

While Chinese suppliers made up a large majority, I was pleased to see others hailing from S. Korea, Turkey, and of course, India, among others, as well as a corridor for African sourcing, with a number of vendors from Mauritius, and Origin Africa (http://originafrica.org).

Together at the convention were a series of public seminars, one of which focused on trade and Africa, and particularly on sourcing from Africa. Many companies are interested in sourcing from Africa, and this interest has been steadily growing since the AGOA agreement came into effect.

Currently, we are awaiting the (hoped for and) anticipated passage of a special provision of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which allows fabrics from other countries to be used in the manufacturing process and still qualify for the benefit of “AGOA treatment, ” i.e., duty free treatment, of the product.  For more information on AGOA, check out my other articles here:

The African Fashion Industry – Can in Benefit From AGOA?

The African Fashion Industry and AGOA

I spoke with Senator Menendez’ (NJ state senator) staff in Washington DC yesterday, who assured me that there is a lot of bi-partisan support for the passage of the AGOA provision awaiting passage by the Senate, which involves the continued permission for imports into the US to qualify for the duty-free treatment accorded by the AGOA agreement when fabrics from non-African/non-US countries had been used in the construction of the garment.

I expressed to the staff member that these types of delays make it difficult for businesses to accurately make financial projections in the uncertain commercial environment created when company’s do not know if their cost of importation is going to rise, on average, from anywhere between 10% to 35%.  It therefore, could serve as a deterrent from sourcing from Africa which defeats the whole purpose of a program like the AGOA that is intended to promote increased sourcing from Sub-Saharan Africa.

He assured me that this was known but explained that the AGOA passage was tied up with other trade bills that likewise needed support and which, in their current forms, were not fully supported.

Many people are calling there to express their support for the passage and I encourage you to do the same.  The telephone nos. for Senator Menendez’ office is (202) 224-4744 and the general switchboard in order to be connected to any U.S. Senator’s office is (202) 224-3121.

Feel free to call over there and when connected to a Senator’s office, tell them you would like to speak to someone regarding the “Africa trade bill,” – they’re more likely to understand this comment than stating the "AGOA agreement" - and then express why continued legislative AGOA support is important to you.

Exercise your voice.  Isn’t this what a democracy is all about?

Questions/comments?  Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com

Origin Africa

“Can we source from Africa? I didn’t know that we could buy fabric and products from Africa. Like most people, I just automatically thought to source from China.”

A young man from Brooklyn, NY based brand, Jerome Oliver Jones, shared this sentiment with me yesterday while I was at the “Origin Africa” booth (#236) exhibiting at the 2012 “TEXWORLD” show, an apparel and textiles trade show, taking place at New York City’s Javitts Center through this Wednesday, January 18, 2012.

He is right, at least he is in my experience, that most do think to automatically source from China simply because they are the “go to” country for so many products manufactured and imported into the U.S.

Origin Africa is here to spread the word about the ability of sourcing products from Africa in order to promote trade between Africa and the world. As simply stated by Daniel Wolf, of USAID’s "South African Trade Hub," whom I met at the Origin Africa booth, “Africa makes good products.”

From the sampling of apparel products available at the booth, my estimation is that Africans make great textile and apparel products. Labels including “Doreen Mashika,” “Indego Africa,” “ki2fashion,” and “Bonk,” had products available to view, together with a message about ending conflict on the continent and the problem of the abduction of children who are forced to fight as soldiers, through a movement known as “Invisible Children.”

At the helm of Origin Africa is Chad Schofield who has been in the sourcing business for decades and represents African manufacturers, works to get them “export ready,” and assists them so that their manufacturing capabilities are adaptable and dependable.

Origin Africa has a two-pronged formula that acts as both a sourcing and branding program. The former involves showing the benefits to US companies of sourcing from Africa, while the latter focuses on introducing African brands to the U.S.

One benefit I observed through discussions with Chad was the ability to have a small production run of say 200-300 shirts, as opposed to a requirement to have behemoth (i.e., enormous) volumes before a manufacturer would even listen to you.

Small batch runs allow for customized colors and collections, bringing greater creativity and recognition to the designer, as well as greater diversity to the consumer.

A second benefit is the ability to source organic cotton products which is not only good for the environment, but as I described to fashion designer “Aschobi” recently, it is “cool to be conscience,” and fashion has been trending in the "eco-fashion" direction which has been gaining momentum in recent years.

If you are interested in souring from Africa, Mr. Schofield may be reached via email at chad.schofield@threeglobal.com.

Questions/comments? Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com