WASHINGTON - Nearly 2,000 African products will qualify for duty-free entry into the US market under the recently passed Africa Growth and Opportunity Act or AGOA, a senior US official has said.

Susan Esserman, deputy US Trade Representative, told a seminar in Washington Tuesday that President Bill Clinton is expected to announce the products designated eligible for duty-free treatment under the Act before the end of the year.

By so doing, the US would have cut in half the one-year time that it usually takes to designate products for entry into the US market under the traditional General System of Preference or GSP.

Assistant US Trade Representative Jon Rosenbaum, in charge of trade development, also explained that unlike GSP, AGOA is more dependable and more liberal as it is not subject to the quota restrictions, the two-yearly reviews and the yearly petitioning processes that apply to the bilateral trade agreements that the US enters into under the GSP.

Implementation of AGOA has generally received expedited action, as earlier in October Clinton announced 34 African countries that have been designated eligible to benefit from AGOA, an act passed in May that will allow free access to US market for African products.

Among the countries designated are Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Ethiopia. Esserman further pointed out that apart from the designation of eligible products, another measure that has to be implemented before the benefits of the Act can be realised is the certification of the beneficiary countries' visa systems and customs-related requirements.

She said that under AGOA, no other region has a better access to the US market than Africa, which now has a competitive advantage over most of the world's businesses in selling goods to the US.

Besides increasing trade access, the act will also increase investment in Africa, create new jobs and enhance skills as well as introduce new technologies into the continent.

Esserman said in recognition that Africa can take advantage of the Act only with the expansion in its existing businesses and creation of new ones, the Act has also created assistance programmes, including a 500-million-dollar equity and infrastructure fund.

These programmes will be implemented through such US agencies as the Export-Import Bank, Overseas Private Investment Corporation and African Development Foundation.

Esserman also said AGOA has provided for the establishment of a US-sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Co-operation Forum under which high-level dialogue on the relevant issues would be held yearly. Its benefits notwithstanding, she said, "AGOA presents an opportunity for Africa, not a guarantee."

In this way, she stated, the Act can only succeed if African companies are ready and able to take advantage of its benefits.

Noting that the US market is complex, Esserman advised African businesses to work with US partners who would assist in tailoring products, accessing niche markets, identifying capital and understanding US market requirements.

To contribute to raising awareness among African businesses about the Act, Esserman said the US government has conducted four regional seminars in Africa while another two are expected in the next two weeks. She also advised African governments to create an enabling environment that would attract investment to their countries.

Such an environment should comprise market-oriented economic policies, sound regulatory policies, transparent legal processes and investment in telecommunications and other basic infrastructure.

AGOA was a major subject for discussion Tuesday at the week-long conference organised by the World Bank/International Monetary Fund Africa club, which started Monday. African business representatives and officials are attending the conference