US eyes deals on Sub-Saharan Africa

US trade representative Robert Lighthizer (photo) recently said the United States is in the finishing stages of completing a deal to update Northern American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and plans to pursue free trade agreements in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and possibly with the Philippines. Lighthizer, testifying before a US Senate Appropriations subcommittee, said he liked the idea of a trade deal with the Philippines as a "good first agreement" in the region. He said a number of Sub-Saharan African countries also would make good candidates for bilateral trade deals. "We want to have a model agreement. We want to pick someone where there are clear advantages to US manufacturing and agricultural sales and our hope is that most of what is in that model is something we can use with other people," he said. Photo Nampa/Reuters