Washington, DC - The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today announced that effective December 1, 2006, the U.S.-South Africa Business Council, a member-driven organization of U.S. companies with business, trade and investment interests in South Africa currently run by the NFTC, will move to the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA).
“The NFTC has been home to the U.S.-South Africa Business Council for the past 13 years, and together we have made progress advocating trade policies that would help expand and maximize the potential benefits of market liberalization across the region for both U.S. and South African businesses and workers,” stated NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “The Corporate Council on Africa will continue to bring strong leadership to the Business Council in 2007 and beyond.”
Since its inception in 1993, the U.S.-South Africa Business Council has been a leading voice for members of the U.S. business community interested in building a robust and mutually beneficial commercial relationship between the United States and South Africa. The Business Council has spearheaded efforts to urge for the negotiation and passage of a U.S.-South African Customs Union (SACU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which would broaden and make permanent trade benefits the benefits SACU countries currently receive under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
“We welcome the opportunity to take on this very important advocacy effort. The Corporate Council on Africa is uniquely poised to lead the U.S.-South Africa Business Council given our key organization-wide objective to strengthen the commercial relationship between the United States and the entire African continent,” said Stephen Hayes, CCA President. “We thank the NFTC for its leadership and look forward to carrying on the Business Council’s mission.”
Advancing Global Commerce for Over 90 Years
The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules-based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.