* Africa now home to many fast-growing economies
* China trade with Africa up more 1,400 percent since 2000
* US business feels left out of planning on African trade
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s
administration, criticized for not doing enough to boost trade
with Africa in the face of rising competition from China, has
taken steps in recent months to address those concerns and plans
to do more.
After decades of poor performance, Africa is now home to
some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and China has been
signing contracts to lock in long-term access to the continent’s
huge resources.
“Trade and investment is a critical component of the
president’s vision for the next five years of U.S. policy
towards sub-Saharan Africa,” Deputy U.S. Trade Representative
Demetrios Marantis told Reuters in an interview.
Obama, in a tough race for re-election against Republican
Mitt Romney, in June laid out a “U.S. Strategy Toward
Sub-Saharan Africa,” which touted the continent’s potential “to
be the world’s next major economic success story” and promised
to work with the region to free up trade and investment.
But Stephen Hayes, president of the Corporate Council on
Africa, a U.S. business group, said Obama has not done enough to
involve the private sector in planning on Africa.
Continued…
