Importers of African textiles said AGOA's renewal created a "win-win situation" for both the U.S. importers and sub-Saharan African shippers.

Mary Marino, the North American director of Cotton Made in Africa (CMiA), was enthusiastic about African exports of textiles and apparel. She expected cotton exports from Africa to grow following the AGOA's renewal.

CMiA, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, and part of the Aid by Trade Foundation, promotes cotton produced in a number of countries, including Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The African continent represents 5 percent of global cotton production and more than 9 percent of the world's cotton exports. Cotton is one of Africa's most important cash crops, with more than 2.5 million livelihoods dependent on cotton production alone, thus underlining AGOA's significance for textile and apparel production and, in effect, cotton production.

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