Future trade agreements between the US and Sub-Saharan African countries could become a “powerful” tool to enforce labour standards, a senior UN official has said.

The International Labour Organization’s Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa, Aeneas Chuma recently attended a forum on trade and economic cooperation between the two blocs.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), provides some African products duty-free access to the US and allows US companies to trade and invest in countries on the continent.

These rules that protect the rights and protection of workers, do not hurt business, Mr Chuma told Jocelyne Sambira on the line from Washington DC.

Duration: 4’52’’