Uganda and AGOA:
A Focus on Value Added Textile Exports

The Office of International Public Service and Outreach at the University of Georgia has been awarded a grant in partnership with the Uganda Investment Authority and the East Africa-America Business Council in Atlanta by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Citizen Exchanges to develop business linkages between U.S.-based textile and apparel firms and those in Uganda.

The ultimate goal of this project is to create trade opportunities between Ugandan and U.S. firms that translate into economic growth and jobs. Simultaneously, the project will increase income and employment in Uganda's textile and apparel sector through export growth by taking advantage of the market access provisions of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). The project's three main objectives are:

  1. to develop Ugandan participants' understanding of the U.S. textile and apparel market;
  2. to build sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships between Ugandan and U.S. textile and apparel traders; and
  3. to enhance the capacity of Ugandan trade associations and the Uganda Investment Authority to participate in the global textile and apparel marketplace.

This project is an important manifestation of President Bush's trade legislation which provides market access provisions for 38 sub-Saharan African countries through passage of the African Growth and Opportunities Act in 2000. The act has the potential to transform the future of U.S.-Africa trade by promoting increased commercial activity and economic cooperation between the U.S. and eligible sub-Saharan African countries.

A five-stage activity timeline for the grant began in April 2005 with a five-person U.S. delegation traveling to Uganda for detailed planning of the full program with the Ugandan Investment Authority. A U.S. delegation will undertake a trade mission to Uganda during the fall of 2005, and a trade mission from Uganda will travel to the U.S. to participate in trade shows and other apparel marketing activities in the February 2006.
Project Partners

Follow links below to learn more about the Office of International Public Service and Outreach at the University of Georgia, the Uganda Investment Authority, and the East Africa-America Business Council in Atlanta.

This project is funded by the Office of Citizen Exchanges, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, US Department of State under the ECA/PE/C open competition (S-ECAPE-04-GR-153 [MA]) awarded to the University of Georgia in partnership with the East Africa American Business Council and the Uganda Investment Authority.