Samawade's Take

Richard H. Riley, IV, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Federal Republic of Somalia           Richard H. Riley, IV is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. He currently serves as Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada.  Previously, Riley was the Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Peshawar, Pakistan.         He has also served in senior leadership assignments such as Charge d’Affaires, ad interim, and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, Assistant Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a, Yemen, and Senior Civilian Representative (Team Leader) at the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Nangahar Province, Afghanistan.            Earlier, he was Deputy Director of the Office of Egypt and Levant Affairs at the Department of State, Senior Coordinator for Democracy and Human Right

          The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a United States trade act that was passed in 2000. The act provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the US market for over 1,800 products, in addition to the more than 5,000 products that are eligible for duty-free access under the Generalized System of Preferences program.           AGOA was designed to promote economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa by increasing trade between the United States and the region. The program has been successful in increasing trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. In 2019, the United States exported over $29 billion worth of goods to sub-Saharan Africa under AGOA, and the region exported over $32 billion worth of goods to the United States.           The AGOA has also had a positive impact on economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. A study by the World Bank found that the AGOA has helped to create over 2 million jobs in the regio