US competes for better ties with Africa

The inability of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, set to expire in 2015, to boost trade ties between the US and Africa is one such example. Although the AGOA has allowed certain African countries to export goods to the US duty free, many sectors of African economies do not benefit. In Cameroon, for instance, there has been little improvement in trade as a result of AGOA, because the country's trade with the US is characterized chiefly by petroleum-related products.

The White House, therefore, should look to develop country-specific strategies, or a continental approach, that take account of the peculiarities of our markets. The bedrock of the US strategy toward growing business ties with the Asia-Pacific, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, is an example of a tactic that would have a positive impact on Africa.

Meanwhile, aptly positioned to benefit from Cameroon's and, indeed, Africa's vast business prospects, China is already two steps ahead of the US and moving fast. If the US does not act now to cement its interests, it could soon find itself even further behind in China's wake. The same logic applies to much of Africa, whose eyes shifted elsewhere because of the recent, inattentive US policy toward the region.

Cameroon and, indeed, all of Africa are swiftly on the rise. African countries are prospering and, though open to diverse global collaboration, are more frequently granted the ear of the East - and this has been happening despite China's delayed arrival to the continent and Africa's historic partnership with the US.

But the White House's invitation to more than 40 African heads of state to visit Washington for a summit of world scale in August might indicate changing times. Certainly, this summit should lead to the formation of a newly revamped, considerate relationship between the US and its individual African partners. As Africa's relations with China continue to thrive, we steadfastly hold for Washington an open door.

The author is the president and CEO of the Cameroonian American Chamber of Commerce and a founder of the Africa Investment Agency.

(China Daily 08/04/2014 page9)