Manchester Trade: MT in News

Showing posts with label MT in News. Show all posts

AGOA Civil Society Forum 2010

AGOA Civil Society Forum 2010

“A Decade of Progress in Bridging the U.S.-Africa Trade Gap”

Woodrow Wilson International Center

One Woodrow Wilson Plaza

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.

Washington, DC 20004

July 29-30, 2010

The Africa Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, together with Manchester Trade, the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation and the Shell Corporation are pleased to invite you to the AGOA Civil Society Forum of 2010. This forum will examine the involvement of civil society in the creation and implementation of AGOA and discuss the recommendations made by civil society forums over the years. The two-day conference entitled “African Growth and Opportunity Act Civil Society Forum 2010: A decade of Progress in Bridging the U.S. - Africa Trade Gap” will feature prominent speakers, including Senator Benjamin Cardin, (D-MD), Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Johnnie Carson, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson, African Union, and Congressman Ed Royce, (R-CA) House Foreign Affairs Committee.

LOCATION: Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars

6th Floor Flom Auditorium Room

1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20004

Tel: 202.691.4000

DATE: July 29, 2010

Conference 8:15 am – 5:30pm (Woodrow Wilson Center)

Reception 5:30pm – 7:00pm (Woodrow Wilson Center)

July 30, 2010

Conference 8:30am - 12pm (Woodrow Wilson Center)

RSVP is REQUIRED by July 26, 2010

Please click here to register for this event.

Upcoming Event featuring Manchester Trade - 28 July 2010

Stephen Lande, President of Manchester Trade Ltd. is scheduled to speak at the following event, heading discussions on the implications of AGOA on the US - Africa Partnership. Click here to RSVP.

The International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council & the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa

presents

A Congressional Briefing on

African Agri-Food Exports to the U.S.:

Facing Challenges of Sanitary & Phytosanitary Standards and Tariff-Rate Quotas

U.S. Capitol Visitors Center

(Room to be Confirmed)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

10:00am – 12:00noon

The African Growth and Opportunity Act has strengthened U.S.-Africa trade ties, but the $1.2.-1.4 billion in food and agricultural goods the U.S. purchases from Africa each year are only a small fraction of the total value of U.S. imports from the continent. Please join the International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council and the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa for the release and discussion of two policy briefs, which analyze and seek to improve upon the disappointing performance of African food and agricultural exports to the U.S.

Moderator:

Charlotte Hebebrand, Chief Executive, IPC

Welcome:

James Kiiru, Commercial Attache, Embassy of Kenya, and Chair, African Diplomatic AGOA Technical Committee

Introductory Remarks:

Daniel Karanja, Sr. Fellow, Partnership to Cut Hunger & Poverty in Africa

Panel Discussion:

Horticultural Exports from AGOA Countries to the U.S.: Challenges & Considerations - Richard Pasco, Attorney, McLeod, Watkinson & Miller

US Tariff Rate Quotas and AGOA Market Access - David Skully, Professor, Jagiellonian University, Poland

Discussants:

Implications for Farmers & Rural Women - Lawrencia Adams-Simpson, Team Leader, Ghana Research and Advocacy Program and First Ray Almeida Fellow

Moving Forward and Implications for the U.S. and Africa - Steve Lande, President, Manchester Trade LTD

For more information, please visit the event website.

Nigerian Acting President Goodluck Jonathan Reassures Washington

Goodluck Jonathan, Acting President of Nigeria, came to Washington last week to participate in the international summit on nuclear security. Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has been out of the public eye for months because of serious health issues, leaving Nigeria in a leadership crisis. Vice President Jonathan was named Acting President in February. Restoring confidence in the stability of Nigeria – the United States’ fifth largest supplier of oil – was a major goal of Jonathan’s visit to Washington, and he seems to have succeeded.

Acting President Jonathan made the rounds while in Washington. He met President Obama, visited Vice President Biden’s residence, and spoke at several high-profile forums around the city. In a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, he addressed the problem of instability in the oil-rich Niger Delta region: “The issue of young men who have taken arms to fight the system ... it's not something you can say you can even complete in the four years of this administration. But I can assure you that we will set up a solid base and have a clear focus and a program with timelines that you will see that we are progressing.”

Jonathan also spoke at an event hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa. Nigerian newspaper The Guardian quoted Manchester Trade Vice President Tony Carroll, who said that Jonathan’s visit had “repaired the reputation of Nigeria.”