Assistant U.S Trade Representative Florizelle Liser testified at the congressional hearing that the sub-Saharan Africa current share of global trade is less than two percent in 1980.

Liser said if Sub-Saharan Africa were to increase that share by just one percent it would generate additional export revenue of 70 million USD annually, which is nearly three times the amount of annual assistance to Africa from all donors.

He said this reflects the importance of trade as critical platform for Africa’s economic growth.

She said the exports from the continent are concentrated in primary commodities such as petroleum, minerals, cocoa and coffee.

Agriculture, which is regarded as Africa’s strong suit, has not been a positive contributor to export, trade and that in 2005 the region switched form being a net exporter of farm products.

" We believe that export diversification and further processing of agriculture products in to higher-value export could help improve food security in the region by addressing issues of availability and stability of food supply " she said.

The representative said the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a US trade law enacted in 2000, is a tool that has helped to increase both the volume and diversity of US trade with Sub -Saharan Africa.

AGOA also promotes economic cooperation and trade among the countries of sub-sharan Africa by encouraging interregional trade among AGOA beneficiaries, she said added that the trade between the two parties was 104.6 billion USD in 2008, more than triple the amount in 2001.

"We are continuing effort to increase the number of AGOA eligible countries taking advantages of the program and we are also trying to address the many supply constraints the Africans face to help them increase the range and quality of products being traded and improved African over all competitiveness " she said.

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