AGOA was designed to give investors predictability – yet its benefits are now threatened by the turmoil of shifting US trade rules. Like most of the world, Africa is perplexed by the rollercoaster ride of shifting United States (US) trade policy. That is particularly true of the changes to AGOA – the African Growth and…
Nairobi — President Donald Trump has signed into law legislation reauthorizing the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), extending the trade preference programme through December 31, 2026, with retroactive effect to September 30, 2025. The move restores certainty for eligible sub-Saharan African countries and US importers after the programme lapsed at the end of September…
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has welcomed the overwhelming passage by the United States House of Representatives of a three-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The Chairperson commends the bipartisan support demonstrated by Members of the U.S. House, reflecting the enduring commitment of the United…
On January 12, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the AGOA Extension Act (H.R. 6500), marking a significant step toward renewing and strengthening the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The bipartisan vote of 340–54 demonstrates strong congressional support for ongoing U.S.–Africa trade cooperation and economic engagement. The legislation extends AGOA for three…
The World Bank has cautioned that the expiration of the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in late 2025 poses a serious threat to African exports, warning that the loss of preferential access to the U.S. market could undermine economic growth in several Sub-Saharan African countries at a time when the region’s recovery…
The expiry of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) duty-free access window presents an immediate challenge to Nigeria and Africa, particularly for African apparel exporters, a report by BMI, a Fitch Solutions Company, has said. Now that AGOA preferences have lapsed in September 2025, several countries will be forced onto Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff…
US trade representative Jamieson Greer on Tuesday said he is open to treating South Africa differently than other African countries if Washington extends a trade initiative with sub-Saharan Africa that expired in September. Greer told a US senate appropriations subcommittee hearing that the Donald Trump administration was open to a one-year extension of the African…
Washington, DC — The powerful House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a hearing on a proposed three-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the first Congressional action since the legislation expired on October 1. Spearheaded by Committee Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri, the proposed AGOA Extension Act would make December 31,…
Washington, DC — The AGOA Alliance, a coalition of U.S. and African business, policy, and trade leaders, today sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging a 2–5-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The letter, addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, Speaker Mike Johnson, and House…
The author, Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso The expiry of the African Growth and Opportunity Act at the end of September marked a watershed moment in the US-South Africa relationship. While Agoa had been effectively undermined by the Trump tariffs imposed earlier this year, it nevertheless provided a backstop for our trade relationship…
