US trade with Africa: African growth and opportunity?

This paper analyses the 'USA Trade and Development Act' (aka African Growth and Opportunity Act-AGOA) in the context of the WTO promotion for free trade. First, it briefly reviews 'free trade' relations for the African continent. It then analyses the trade relations of the US with Africa, as well as the performance of the US in following its own doctrine of open markets. The core of the paper addresses the trade agreement itself, discussing the conditionalities for eligibility for African countries to enlist the agreement, as well as analysing the provisions for the trade; it gives empirical findings about the impact of the act in its first years.