 The
United
States
Government
has
granted
The
Gambia a
te xtile
visa
which
allows
the
country
to
export
textile
and
garment
products
to th e
U.S.
duty-free
and
quota-free
under
the
African
Growth
and
Opportunity
Act (AGO
A ).
News of
the
textile
visa was
contained
in a
letter
sent to
the
Secretary
of Stat
e for
Trade,
Industry
and
Employment,
Abdou
Colley,
from the
United
States
Trade
Representative,
Ambassador
Susan C.
Schwab,
on 28
April.
In her
letter,
Schwab
said her
office
has
determined
The
Gambia
has
adopted
an e
ffective
visa
system
and
related
procedures
to
prevent
unlawful
trans-shipment
a n d
the use
of
counterfeit
documents
in
connection
with
shipments
of
textile
and a p
parel
articles
to the
United
States .
Therefore,
she
said,
imports
of
eligible
products
from The
Gambia
qualify
for th e
textile
and
apparel
benefits
provided
under
AGOA.
Implementation
of the
textile
visa is
guided
by the
bilateral
visa
arrangement
a greed
by the
two
governments
which,
among
other
things,
requires
producers
and e x
porters
of
textile
and
garment
products
to
retain
appropriate
records
and
provid e
such
records
on
request
by the
government
of The
Gambia.
The
Gambia
has now
become
one of
26 out
of the
37 AGOA
eligible
countries
that h
ave
qualified
for the
textile
visa,
which
allows
eligible
countries
to
export
ma n
ufactured
apparel
to the
U.S.
The
country
now
needs to
acquire
a
category
9
certificate
to
export
hand-woven
t
extiles
and
ethnic
printed
fabrics.
In a 2
May
meeting
with the
Secretary
of State
for
Finance,
Mousa
Bala
Gaye,
who is
currently
overseeing
the
Department
of State
for
Trade,
Ambassador
Barry L.
W ells
congratulated
the
government
and the
people
of The
Gambia
on the
acquisitio
n of the
textile
visa.
Wells
expressed
hopes
the
country’s
talented
fashion
designers
and
other
apparel
producers
would
try to
make the
best use
of this
great
opportunity
and
assured
t he
Gambian
government
the U.S.
Embassy
would
continue
to work
with the
relevant
government
departments
to
ensure
the
country
proceeds
rapidly
to
acquire
category
9
certification.
The
Gambia
became
an AGOA-eligible
country
in
December
2002.
The AGOA
law was
passed
by the
U.S.
Congress
in May
2000 as
a new
approach
to U. S.
trade
and
investment
policy
towards
Africa .
The
programme
enables
eligible
African
countries
to
export
more
than
6,400
produ
cts to
the
United
States
duty-free
and
quota-free.
Source:
Panapress 09/05/2008
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