Mozambican exports to the US

The United States of America this week expressed its interest in continuing to support the Mozambican private sector in identifying and removing barriers that hinder exports to the North American market.Such was the sentiment expressed by the US African Export and Administration Policy Coordinator Florizelle Liser at a meeting with the Mozambican private sector in Maputo aimed at finding ways to overcome difficulties that domestic companies face exporting products to the North American market.Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a US Government program to boost the sale of goods and goods produced in Africa, Mozambique can export 6,500 different products to the American market, but has taken little advantage of this opportunity opened by the American Government because of a number of factors.Among these, Paulo Fumane, a CTA adviser, singles out technical constraints related to the export chain itself and the demanding sanitary requirements imposed by the American market.

“In recent years, some sectors have reduced or almost stopped exporting to the American market. It is necessary to reactivate trade relations by seeking ways to remove the barriers, which are not tariffs but rather technical requirements in the export chain itself, together,” said Fumane.

He said that included in this perspective were processed as well as fresh products.

Fumane said that the US was willing to support the Mozambican private sector in removing barriers in order to increase in the volume of exports, and the US African Export and Administration Policy coordinator Florizelle Liser reaffirmed the US Government’s willingness to support the Mozambican private sector, noting that Mozambique had many products that it could export to the US duty-free but was not taking the opportunity.As a result, she said: “We had a meeting to see what we could do with the Mozambican government and private sector in order to increase the levels of trade relations.”A day before the meeting with the private sector the US representative met members of the Mozambican government to define a joint action plan aimed at promoting American investment in Mozambique and increasing trade between the two countries.The national director of external trade at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Amílcar Arone, said that the government was continuing to work with the private sector to remove barriers and improve the business environment.