[ 2011-04-11 ]

Ghanaian exports to the US are tariff-free under AGOA

Exporters to now obtain certificates of origin within 24 hours
Exporters should now be able to obtain their
certificates of origin within 24 hours.

It follows the automation of the issuance of the
certificates, a key document in international
trade to cover exports from Ghana.

Seth Adjei Baah, the President of the Ghana
National Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the
automation of the process of getting certificates
was necessitated by problems encountered by
exporters.

He explained the certificates are very important
for exporters seeking a waiver of some duties and
taxes.

He said some Ghanaian exporters had been forced to
pay tariffs on their exports to the United States
despite the exemption they enjoyed under the
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). That,
he said was because they were not able to produce
certificates of origin to show that the goods are
actually from Ghana.

Mr. Adjei Baah told Joy Business the automation
process will also help reduce fraud.

“Previously, because the [system was] manual, a
lot of people were issuing fake [certificates]
hear and there and it was difficult to monitor and
when exporters get out there they have
challenges…and we want to eliminate that as
well,” he stated.

Source - JoyOnline

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