Ambassador Ronald Kirk, United States Trade Representative, speaking at the Brookings Institution on the African Growth and Opportunity Act: There are several persistent challenges that have prevented full implementation of AGOA in nearly every African nation, these include: poor infrastructure, regulatory obstacles and transportation issues.

On June 13, the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings hosted a discussion on the future of AGOA and the U.S. commercial relationship with Africa. Panelists and speakers discussed advancing AGOA and deepening U.S. trade and investment in Africa. This event preceded the 11th annual AGOA Forum, taking place in Washington later in the week.