Following yesterday’s consultations under the U.S.-Mauritius Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis met with Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam. During their lengthy meeting, they discussed a number of issues regarding the U.S. economic relationship with Mauritius and the broader sub-Saharan region, including the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act’s (AGOA) third country fabric provision, the U.S.-Mauritius Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), regional integration, and the future of the U.S.-Africa trade and investment relationship beyond the current 2015 end of AGOA preferences.
Ambassador Marantis meets with Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam
Ambassador Marantis also delivered a speech, entitled “Paving the Way to Future Growth,” focused on U.S. trade policy for Mauritius and for the sub-Saharan Africa region more broadly. Ambassador Marantis gave the speech at an event hosted by the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry where he interacted with an audience of about 50 representatives from the business community, academia, and the Mauritian government.
Ambassador Marantis delivers a speech at an event sponsored by the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Ambassador Marantis also held a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration, and International Trade Arvin Boolell, and Minister of Information and Communication Technology Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum on a range of bilateral trade issues, including U.S.-Mauritius cooperation in the critical information and communications technology (ICT) sector and on working more closely in World Trade Organization (WTO) trade facilitation negotiations.
In addition, Ambassador Marantis met with private sector representatives, and toured Plastinax Austral. Plastinax is an eyeglasses producer and one of the many Mauritian firms taking advantage of duty-free access to the U.S. market under AGOA. Due to growing exports to the United States and other markets over the last two years, Plastinax has almost doubled the number of its workers to 400.
Ambassador Marantis tours Plastinax Austral, an eyeglasses producer
