At a hearing held by the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations in the US House of Representatives on June 8, it was announced that trade between the US and African nations has not reached the levels anticipated.

Although trade between has increased 115% since the initiation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)—a US law which provides duty-free access to a wide range of more than 6,400 items, including textile products into the US market for African nations— non-oil trade under AGOA decreased by 16% in 2005, despite growth in sectors such as footwear and chemicals.