Friday, April 29, 2011
Zambian products eligible for AGOA export
US-Zambia Business
With James Muyanwa
AS promised, this week we look at the products which are eligible for export by African countries, including Zambia, to the United States of America under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
My quick glance at the list of the United States of America (USA) imports - for any period -under the Act shows 12 packs of the eligible products from Africa.
Relatively, out of the 12 categories of the products, Zambia has a comparative advantage in the agriculture products as well as minerals and metal products.
AGOA extended duty-free treatment under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) to AGOA-eligible countries like Zambia for more than 1,800 tariff line items. This was an addition to the list of approximately 4,600 GSP items which were already available to GSP beneficiary countries.
Therefore, there are currently about 6,400 products from the African AGOA-member countries which are eligible for duty-free treatment. The additional GSP line items include such previously excluded items as footwear, luggage, handbags, watches and certain automotive components.
Apart from agriculture products, they are categorised under forest products which is also Zambia’s strong area, chemicals and related products, energy-related products in which Nigeria and Angola are leading exporters, as well as textiles and apparel.
Other groups are footwear, minerals and metals, another Zambia’s domain, machinery, transportation equipment, electronic products, miscellaneous manufactures and special provisions.
Admittedly, the list is too condensed and therefore does not clearly specify the products, but it should also be appreciated that there are a total of 6,400 single items which, if I were to list all of them for instance, would cover more than six weeks.
I would, therefore, only look at the products in the categories where exporters in this country have an advantage and agriculture as already been alluded to is one such sector.
According to the Africa Regional Services (ARS Paris), a primary source of French language program materials for American Cultural Centres at US Embassies for francophone Africa, cereals like barley, different kinds of rice and wheat are in the agriculture category.
Closely related to that, are the many varieties of vagetables.
Further on demand in the USA are a catalogue of fruits like water melon, pineaples and paw-paw as well as their preparations. Zambians can also export speficified plants or trees which include the floriculture products.
Zambian timber producers and exporters should also take advantage of the demand for wood and wood products like clothespins, coniferous wood dowel rods, plywood, spring-type clothespins, wood blinds, shutters, screens and shades as well as wood wool.
Under minerals and metals category USA imports copper, Zinc, base metal fittings, padlocks, cobalt alloy, magnesium, molybdenum, columbium, thallium, titanium, tungsten, bars, tungsten, vanadium and zirconium.
Then there are scores of items in the iron and steel products category. The opportunities are simply yawning for those who want to export to the US under the arrangement.
In the main, AGOA authorizes the US President to provide duty-free treatment under GSP for any item, after the USTrade Representative (USTR) and the US International Trade Commission (USITC) have resolved that the article is not import-sensitive when coming from African countries.
While AGOA extends duty-free entry into the USA for approximately 4600 product lines to the 37 AGOA-eligible Sub-Sahara African countries, a special set of conditions governs the trade in apparel.
AGOA eligibility does not automatically imply compliance with the apparel export provisions and the relevant rules of original which will be tackled later.
******
During the week I received a call from a Mr Simwinga of Copperbelt who wanted to know more about Kanzam International and how it operates in linking up the investors from USA and Zambia. Mr Simwinga further wanted to know if Kanzam International charges for its services or not.
I will, however, not delve into answering Mr Simwinga because a full column will be dedicated to look at such issues and explore more the operation of Kanzam International. Look out for the column next when I come back with another topic.
Kindly send your contributions to: jmuyanwa@gmail.com, call: 021(0955) 431442 or AGOA@kanzamint.com or call +1(214) 245-4371
Zambian products eligible for AGOA export
US-Zambia Business
With James Muyanwa
AS promised, this week we look at the products which are eligible for export by African countries, including Zambia, to the United States of America under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
My quick glance at the list of the United States of America (USA) imports - for any period -under the Act shows 12 packs of the eligible products from Africa.
Relatively, out of the 12 categories of the products, Zambia has a comparative advantage in the agriculture products as well as minerals and metal products.
AGOA extended duty-free treatment under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) to AGOA-eligible countries like Zambia for more than 1,800 tariff line items. This was an addition to the list of approximately 4,600 GSP items which were already available to GSP beneficiary countries.
Therefore, there are currently about 6,400 products from the African AGOA-member countries which are eligible for duty-free treatment. The additional GSP line items include such previously excluded items as footwear, luggage, handbags, watches and certain automotive components.
Apart from agriculture products, they are categorised under forest products which is also Zambia’s strong area, chemicals and related products, energy-related products in which Nigeria and Angola are leading exporters, as well as textiles and apparel.
Other groups are footwear, minerals and metals, another Zambia’s domain, machinery, transportation equipment, electronic products, miscellaneous manufactures and special provisions.
Admittedly, the list is too condensed and therefore does not clearly specify the products, but it should also be appreciated that there are a total of 6,400 single items which, if I were to list all of them for instance, would cover more than six weeks.
I would, therefore, only look at the products in the categories where exporters in this country have an advantage and agriculture as already been alluded to is one such sector.
According to the Africa Regional Services (ARS Paris), a primary source of French language program materials for American Cultural Centres at US Embassies for francophone Africa, cereals like barley, different kinds of rice and wheat are in the agriculture category.
Closely related to that, are the many varieties of vagetables.
Further on demand in the USA are a catalogue of fruits like water melon, pineaples and paw-paw as well as their preparations. Zambians can also export speficified plants or trees which include the floriculture products.
Zambian timber producers and exporters should also take advantage of the demand for wood and wood products like clothespins, coniferous wood dowel rods, plywood, spring-type clothespins, wood blinds, shutters, screens and shades as well as wood wool.
Under minerals and metals category USA imports copper, Zinc, base metal fittings, padlocks, cobalt alloy, magnesium, molybdenum, columbium, thallium, titanium, tungsten, bars, tungsten, vanadium and zirconium.
Then there are scores of items in the iron and steel products category. The opportunities are simply yawning for those who want to export to the US under the arrangement.
In the main, AGOA authorizes the US President to provide duty-free treatment under GSP for any item, after the USTrade Representative (USTR) and the US International Trade Commission (USITC) have resolved that the article is not import-sensitive when coming from African countries.
While AGOA extends duty-free entry into the USA for approximately 4600 product lines to the 37 AGOA-eligible Sub-Sahara African countries, a special set of conditions governs the trade in apparel.
AGOA eligibility does not automatically imply compliance with the apparel export provisions and the relevant rules of original which will be tackled later.
******
During the week I received a call from a Mr Simwinga of Copperbelt who wanted to know more about Kanzam International and how it operates in linking up the investors from USA and Zambia. Mr Simwinga further wanted to know if Kanzam International charges for its services or not.
I will, however, not delve into answering Mr Simwinga because a full column will be dedicated to look at such issues and explore more the operation of Kanzam International. Look out for the column next when I come back with another topic.
Kindly send your contributions to: jmuyanwa@gmail.com, call: 021(0955) 431442 or AGOA@kanzamint.com or call +1(214) 245-4371
With James Muyanwa
AS promised, this week we look at the products which are eligible for export by African countries, including Zambia, to the United States of America under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
My quick glance at the list of the United States of America (USA) imports - for any period -under the Act shows 12 packs of the eligible products from Africa.
Relatively, out of the 12 categories of the products, Zambia has a comparative advantage in the agriculture products as well as minerals and metal products.
AGOA extended duty-free treatment under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) to AGOA-eligible countries like Zambia for more than 1,800 tariff line items. This was an addition to the list of approximately 4,600 GSP items which were already available to GSP beneficiary countries.
Therefore, there are currently about 6,400 products from the African AGOA-member countries which are eligible for duty-free treatment. The additional GSP line items include such previously excluded items as footwear, luggage, handbags, watches and certain automotive components.
Apart from agriculture products, they are categorised under forest products which is also Zambia’s strong area, chemicals and related products, energy-related products in which Nigeria and Angola are leading exporters, as well as textiles and apparel.
Other groups are footwear, minerals and metals, another Zambia’s domain, machinery, transportation equipment, electronic products, miscellaneous manufactures and special provisions.
Admittedly, the list is too condensed and therefore does not clearly specify the products, but it should also be appreciated that there are a total of 6,400 single items which, if I were to list all of them for instance, would cover more than six weeks.
I would, therefore, only look at the products in the categories where exporters in this country have an advantage and agriculture as already been alluded to is one such sector.
According to the Africa Regional Services (ARS Paris), a primary source of French language program materials for American Cultural Centres at US Embassies for francophone Africa, cereals like barley, different kinds of rice and wheat are in the agriculture category.
Closely related to that, are the many varieties of vagetables.
Further on demand in the USA are a catalogue of fruits like water melon, pineaples and paw-paw as well as their preparations. Zambians can also export speficified plants or trees which include the floriculture products.
Zambian timber producers and exporters should also take advantage of the demand for wood and wood products like clothespins, coniferous wood dowel rods, plywood, spring-type clothespins, wood blinds, shutters, screens and shades as well as wood wool.
Under minerals and metals category USA imports copper, Zinc, base metal fittings, padlocks, cobalt alloy, magnesium, molybdenum, columbium, thallium, titanium, tungsten, bars, tungsten, vanadium and zirconium.
Then there are scores of items in the iron and steel products category. The opportunities are simply yawning for those who want to export to the US under the arrangement.
In the main, AGOA authorizes the US President to provide duty-free treatment under GSP for any item, after the USTrade Representative (USTR) and the US International Trade Commission (USITC) have resolved that the article is not import-sensitive when coming from African countries.
While AGOA extends duty-free entry into the USA for approximately 4600 product lines to the 37 AGOA-eligible Sub-Sahara African countries, a special set of conditions governs the trade in apparel.
AGOA eligibility does not automatically imply compliance with the apparel export provisions and the relevant rules of original which will be tackled later.
******
During the week I received a call from a Mr Simwinga of Copperbelt who wanted to know more about Kanzam International and how it operates in linking up the investors from USA and Zambia. Mr Simwinga further wanted to know if Kanzam International charges for its services or not.
I will, however, not delve into answering Mr Simwinga because a full column will be dedicated to look at such issues and explore more the operation of Kanzam International. Look out for the column next when I come back with another topic.
Kindly send your contributions to: jmuyanwa@gmail.com, call: 021(0955) 431442 or AGOA@kanzamint.com or call +1(214) 245-4371
US-Zambia Business by Kanzam
With James Muyanwa
FOR any product or service supplied in one area, there is always demand by potential customers somewhere - sometimes very far-off. The challenge is always how to make the supply party meet the demand side.
Take for instance a bee-keeper somewhere in Chief Mukonchi in Kapiri Mposhi district of Central Province of Zambia, with several litres of already harvested honey. How can he/she ensure that the honey reaches that consumer in the United States whom he/she may not even know exists?
It is precisely for that reason that this column has come up to, inter alias, give a lowdown of some of the interactions and linkages between the business community of Zambia on one side and that of the US on the other hand, every Wednesday. All this with a courtesy of Kanzam International Inc!
KANZAM INTERNATIONAL
Kanzam International chief executive officer, Ricky Muloweni says that the investments and trade opportunities in the two countries from the two different worlds are massive and need to be exploited not by the two respective governments but by the resptive private sectors.
Pregnant with the desire to link the business people from the two countries – Zambia and US – Mr Muloweni, a Zambian and his colleague ………………………(name please) from US forged a partnership and came up with Kanzam International whose name stands for Kansas, where the other partner comes from and Zambia.
During a telephone chat at the weekend, Mr Muloweni told me that since inception in 1998, his dream has been that the US business people should partner with the Zambians to fully make use of the investment potential in the two countries. This can only be possible if the local entreprenuers are also in position to embrace the spirit of industrialisation.
Zambia needs to fully industrialise.
Kanzam International has identified some sectors in which it is actually involved to bring the players from Zambia and those from the US together. The company which is broadly pro-agriculture, is involved in mining, manufacturing, education and promotion of art in schools.
Generally, it is a business facilitation and consulting services company for Zambian and US entrepreneurs wishing to do business in Zambia or the United States of America. Its facilitation services range from cultural education, import-export facilitation, business coaching for rural development projects and international business collaboration for Zambian and US companies.
Its main mission is to serve small and medium business clients and entrepreneurs that are in need of logistical, technical, and business entry strategy services in Zambia and the US. It is already working with various agencies such as Ministry on Commerce in Zambia to fully utilize opportunities.
Through its vast business and cultural experience in both the US and Zambia’s economic environment, Kanzam has set out to objectively provide Zambia’s entrepreneurs a medium through which challenges and inadequacies of doing business with American entrepreneurs will be moderated.
KANZAM AND AGOA
Luckily, the US government in 2000 put in place an Act through which Zambian and other African entreprenuers can export to that country and Kanzam, instead of trying to invent the will, works within the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to help forge connections between the business entities from the two countries.
As the result of Kanzam’s efforts under the AGOA arrangement, diners in several restaurants in Kansas will be able to savour Zambian soup (Zamsoup) which will be exported to that country by Sylva Catering Service while more other people in US will taste the Zambian honey.
Kanzam has managed to link Sylva Professional Catering Service and the Zambia Honey Council to the local business entities in US under the AGOA.
Through the deal, Sylva Professional Catering Services will be supplying 15 tonnes of Zambian vegetable soup like bondwe to the US every month.
Kanzam is also working with the Zambian women in mining for similar deals.
As a lead-up to the 10th AGOA forum which will be held here in Zambia in June this year, Kanzam wants to bring more Zambian entreprenuers on board to ensure they take advantage of the yawning opportunities in that country.
Equally, more US investors are yearning to come and invest in various sectors of this country which has matured into one of the most preferred investment destinations in the world.
Through this column more opportunities will be unveiled as it will also offer a platform to entreprenuers from US and Zambia to interact and forge links. One can only hope that more local players will follow it.
Next week I will look at the eligibility of Zambian products in the US and what could be done to enhance their acceptability into that wide market.
Kindly send your contribution to: jmuyanwa@gmail.com or call: 0210955-431442 or 0210977-246099
Ends…
FOR any product or service supplied in one area, there is always demand by potential customers somewhere - sometimes very far-off. The challenge is always how to make the supply party meet the demand side.
Take for instance a bee-keeper somewhere in Chief Mukonchi in Kapiri Mposhi district of Central Province of Zambia, with several litres of already harvested honey. How can he/she ensure that the honey reaches that consumer in the United States whom he/she may not even know exists?
It is precisely for that reason that this column has come up to, inter alias, give a lowdown of some of the interactions and linkages between the business community of Zambia on one side and that of the US on the other hand, every Wednesday. All this with a courtesy of Kanzam International Inc!
KANZAM INTERNATIONAL
Kanzam International chief executive officer, Ricky Muloweni says that the investments and trade opportunities in the two countries from the two different worlds are massive and need to be exploited not by the two respective governments but by the resptive private sectors.
Pregnant with the desire to link the business people from the two countries – Zambia and US – Mr Muloweni, a Zambian and his colleague ………………………(name please) from US forged a partnership and came up with Kanzam International whose name stands for Kansas, where the other partner comes from and Zambia.
During a telephone chat at the weekend, Mr Muloweni told me that since inception in 1998, his dream has been that the US business people should partner with the Zambians to fully make use of the investment potential in the two countries. This can only be possible if the local entreprenuers are also in position to embrace the spirit of industrialisation.
Zambia needs to fully industrialise.
Kanzam International has identified some sectors in which it is actually involved to bring the players from Zambia and those from the US together. The company which is broadly pro-agriculture, is involved in mining, manufacturing, education and promotion of art in schools.
Generally, it is a business facilitation and consulting services company for Zambian and US entrepreneurs wishing to do business in Zambia or the United States of America. Its facilitation services range from cultural education, import-export facilitation, business coaching for rural development projects and international business collaboration for Zambian and US companies.
Its main mission is to serve small and medium business clients and entrepreneurs that are in need of logistical, technical, and business entry strategy services in Zambia and the US. It is already working with various agencies such as Ministry on Commerce in Zambia to fully utilize opportunities.
Through its vast business and cultural experience in both the US and Zambia’s economic environment, Kanzam has set out to objectively provide Zambia’s entrepreneurs a medium through which challenges and inadequacies of doing business with American entrepreneurs will be moderated.
KANZAM AND AGOA
Luckily, the US government in 2000 put in place an Act through which Zambian and other African entreprenuers can export to that country and Kanzam, instead of trying to invent the will, works within the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to help forge connections between the business entities from the two countries.
As the result of Kanzam’s efforts under the AGOA arrangement, diners in several restaurants in Kansas will be able to savour Zambian soup (Zamsoup) which will be exported to that country by Sylva Catering Service while more other people in US will taste the Zambian honey.
Kanzam has managed to link Sylva Professional Catering Service and the Zambia Honey Council to the local business entities in US under the AGOA.
Through the deal, Sylva Professional Catering Services will be supplying 15 tonnes of Zambian vegetable soup like bondwe to the US every month.
Kanzam is also working with the Zambian women in mining for similar deals.
As a lead-up to the 10th AGOA forum which will be held here in Zambia in June this year, Kanzam wants to bring more Zambian entreprenuers on board to ensure they take advantage of the yawning opportunities in that country.
Equally, more US investors are yearning to come and invest in various sectors of this country which has matured into one of the most preferred investment destinations in the world.
Through this column more opportunities will be unveiled as it will also offer a platform to entreprenuers from US and Zambia to interact and forge links. One can only hope that more local players will follow it.
Next week I will look at the eligibility of Zambian products in the US and what could be done to enhance their acceptability into that wide market.
Kindly send your contribution to: jmuyanwa@gmail.com or call: 0210955-431442 or 0210977-246099
Ends…
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