The US Consulate General in Cape Town and the Western Cape government have jointly launched a Trade and Investment Promotion Partnership which will build on the momentum of an existing economic relationship to promote shared prosperity and economic development.
In a statement released on Friday, Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier and US acting Consul General in Cape Town Will Stevens pledged to deepen cooperation and coordination to promote and increase bilateral trade and investment through various engagements, events and high-level interactions.
According to Maynier, the partnership will leverage the decades of innovative trade and investment promotion through Western Cape’s agencies such as Wesgro, and the services, resources and expertise of 17 US government agencies to support US and African businesses, as well as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows duty-free exports of more than 6 500 goods from Africa to the US.
“The US is a key tourism and business market for the Western Cape, and the biggest source of foreign direct investment for the Western Cape, so I am excited about the potential for further investment and economic growth for both regions through the Trade and Investment Promotion Partnership.”
Maynier said the economic relationship between the US and the Western Cape was robust and growing and that the Western Cape’s diverse and dynamic economy attracted investment from big and small US companies.
"Bilateral trade between the US and the Western Cape has increased by 335% over the past 20 years and is now valued at about R17-billion a year.