Davies urges Tesla to consider manufacturing in SA
MINISTER of Trade and Industry Rob Davies, who was attending yesterday’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) forum in Washington DC, made the most of an opportunity at a business breakfast on Sunday to encourage an investment by South African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk in the country of his birth. The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) said Davies, who met with investors, urged Musk’s firm, Tesla, to work with his department to explore the possibility of setting up the manufacturing of products in South Africa.
The dti said Tesla, a groundbreaking manufacturer of electric vehicles and batteries, had ex- pressed an interest in investing in South Africa.
Davies confirmed that South Africa’s vehicle programme already had additional incentives in place for electric-powered vehicles.
The 15th Agoa forum, which took place yesterday, is entitled: “Maximising US-Africa Trade and Investment: Agoa and beyond”.
Agoa is a unilateral US trade preference programme that provides duty-free, quota-free treatment for more than 6 400 tariff lines into the US market from the African continent.
US President Barack Obama has signed into law the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 that contained the Agoa Extension and Enhancement Act extending the programme for 10 years. – ANA