As the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) approaches a critical renewal deadline in 2025, Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama is urging the United States to rethink the architecture of its trade engagement with Africa.
In a keynote address at the Africa Leadership & Partners Forum, Dr. Asiama made a compelling case for a transition from extractive, transactional trade to co-created, innovation-led economic partnerships.
“Africa must no longer be seen as a warehouse of raw materials,” Dr. Asiama told an audience of policymakers, investors, and institutional leaders at the Ghana Embassy in Washington, D.C. “We are ready to co-create the next chapter of global trade, where American innovation meets African ingenuity.”
Held under the auspices of the EBII Group and the Ghanaian Embassy, the forum unfolded against a backdrop of shifting global trade alliances, rising economic nationalism, and growing calls to rewire global supply chains post-COVID and amid geopolitical fragmentation.
At the core of Dr. Asiama’s address was a critique of the current U.S.–Africa trade model, which he argued is still overly reliant on raw material exports. Ghana’s own trade profile exemplifies this dynamic. In 2024, the country exported $1.6 billion worth of crude oil, cocoa, and timber to the U.S., while importing $874 million, generating a trade surplus of over $730 million, but also reinforcing a pattern of limited value capture.
“Without accelerating structural transformation, even Ghana’s progress remains vulnerable,” he said, adding that “stories behind the trade show us why deeper partnership matters.”
AGOA: Opportunity or Expiration?
Dr. Asiama additionally advocated for a renewal framework that reflects Africa’s evolving economic realities and ambitions. He proposed a suite of reforms aimed at modernizing the pact, including; incentivizing joint ventures between African and U.S. firms to spur technology transfer and capacity building, simplifying compliance protocols for small-scale exporters to boost SME participation, and, expanding AGOA’s scope to include digital trade and e-commerce, recognizing the centrality of digital infrastructure in Africa’s next growth wave.
Repositioning Africa in a Multipolar World
Dr. Asiama’s comments arrive at a time when global trade is undergoing tectonic shifts, from de-risking China-centric supply chains to the rise of regional blocs. For Africa, the recalibration is urgent and existential. “Let us shape a future where Africa and the U.S. are not just trading partners but co-creators of prosperity,” he urged. “Where American innovation meets African ingenuity.”
His call for expanded U.S. financing, via agencies like the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and EXIM Bank, signaled a strategic pivot from aid to co-investment, from access to equity. For Africa, this is no longer about market entry. It’s about reshaping the rules of global trade to reflect its rising geopolitical and economic weight.
