Ugandan firms have not taken as much advantage of the US governments African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) to grow.
The US Ambassador to Uganda H.E Deborah Malac says this is mainly a result of the negative perception Ugandans have towards it.
She made the remarks during a press briefing at the US Embassy ahead of the 2016 AGOA forum scheduled to take place on 26th September, in Washington DC.
AGOA provides duty-free access to the US Market for eligible products giving beneficiary countries an upper hand over non AGOA countries.
Ambassador Malac says AGOA provides benefits to Ugandan companies and one of the tools to help the country achieve middle income status.
Currently, there are 37 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa benefiting from AGOA and exporting more than 6,000 items to the US duty free.
Story By Judith Atim
