ISTANBUL

Ambassador Troy Fitrell, senior official at the US State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, said Tuesday that Washington is “very directly, very intentionally” shifting toward an “investment-led” strategy in Africa.

The future of the US trade with Africa “will be much more focused around a reciprocal relationship, one that addresses the needs on both sides,” Fitrell said at an online news conference.

He said trade reflects an “exchange between equals” in an activity, unlike the assistance-led paradigm that the US had in the past, which involved “a donor and a recipient … instead of having it being negotiated with equals.”

Fitrell said he tasked ambassadors to “go out and find” commercial opportunities to advocate for US companies, identify opportunities, push for market reforms to enhance the business environment and engage host governments on those issues.

He said as the US’ African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) marches to its end date, “it is our Congress who has the responsibility to revise, renew, or re-establish it,” adding that “if there's going to be a renewal of AGOA. It will probably reflect the modern world rather than the one from 25 years ago when it was first founded.”

AGOA is a special law enacted in 2000 that grants duty-free access to nearly 40 sub-Saharan African nations to US markets.