Washington, United States | AFP |The United States imposed restrictions Wednesday on exports of US technical support to the South Sudanese oil industry, warning that it is fuelling the bloody civil war there. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said exporters will henceforth need a license to export, re-export or transfer …
Read More »History as 44 African nations sign free trade area pact
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | Forty-four African countries have signed an agreement establishing a free trade area seen as vital to the continent’s economic development, the head of the African Union said Wednesday. The creation of a free trade area — billed as the world’s largest in terms of participating …
Read More »Uganda to review Africa Free Trade Area pact
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & AFP | Uganda has sent a strong delegation to Kigali where African leaders will formally launch the African Continental Free Trade Area Treaty on Wednesday, but the country is reconsidering its full involvement in the pact as it is. Uganda, in many ways like …
Read More »AU launches ambitious bid for world’s largest free trade area
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Africa’s leaders will gather in Rwanda Wednesday to launch what they say will be the world’s largest free trade area but Nigeria has already pulled out, highlighting the challenge in getting the continent to sign up. Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) with …
Read More »IMF chief warns ‘no winners’ in trade wars
Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP | International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde cautioned the United States against putting up barriers to trade in an interview published Sunday. “Trade wars leave no winners,” she said in the interview with Argentine daily La Nacion, responding to a question about President Donald Trump’s …
Read More »TMEA to scale up women and trade programme
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | TradeMark East Africa plans to scale up its women and trade programme to reach over 300,000 beneficiaries in the region in the next five years, according to the organization’s CEO, Frank Matsaert. Speaking during the recently concluded Trade and Development Forum in Kampala, Matsaert said …
Read More »Trump boasts he made up trade claim in Trudeau meeting
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump boasted he made things up in a conversation with Canada’s prime minister, insisting the US ran a trade deficit with its neighbor despite having “no idea” if the claim were true, the Washington Post reported. The US president recalled the exchange with …
Read More »African SMEs set to benefit from $74million guarantee
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (AGF) has entered into a re- guarantee transaction of up to $74 million with GuarantCo to increase its guarantee capacity for SME financing on the continent. The new financing will enable AGF to support larger …
Read More »Why Barclays is re-branding as Absa
The South African bank to open offices in London and New York to serve clients seeking to invest in Africa Kampala,Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Barclays Africa Group Limited (BAGL)plans to return to is former name, Absa, across its operations on the African continent. The bank’s executives said the move …
Read More »Canada’s Trudeau accuses China of ‘dumping’ steel on global markets
Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday accused China of flooding global markets with cheap steel, adding that Canada has already taken steps to prevent “dumping” in this country. “We are very concerned about the actions taken by China and the dumping of steel and aluminum on …
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