New plan to let South African companies bypass the ANC and benefit from tariff-free access to the United States

Sakeliga wants the AGOA to allow US-friendly firms to retain duty-free access to the United States market even where national governments fail to meet the criteria.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a United States trade law enacted in 2000 which gives preferential access to the US market.

It allows eligible sub-Saharan African countries to export thousands of products to the United States market duty-free.

It gives participating African producers a competitive advantage in the United States, supporting local industries and job creation.

It is designed to stimulate economic growth, reduce poverty, and encourage market-based economies and political reform across the African continent.

Countries must meet strict criteria to qualify, including respecting human rights, combating corruption, protecting the rule of law, and eliminating barriers to U.S. trade.

It also benefits the United States by securing reliable trading partners, creating export opportunities for U.S. companies, and building diplomatic influence.

South Africa benefited tremendously from its membership in the African Growth and Opportunity Act, especially in its automotive and agricultural sectors.

However, in recent years, the strained relationship between South Africa and the United States has put its AGOA membership in jeopardy.

South Africa’s close ties with Russia, China, and Iran, and its case against Israel, have turned AGOA into a major diplomatic battleground.

Should South Africa lose access to the AGOA benefits, many industries, companies, and the economy as a whole would suffer.

Economists said that building up new agreements to match the buying power and historical profit margins of the U.S. consumer market would take years.

A new plan to give certain companies access to AGOA

Sakeliga has proposed amending the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) to change the way it selects companies which can benefit.

It will allow US-friendly firms and subnational jurisdictions to retain access to the US market even where national governments fail to meet the eligibility criteria.

This would move AGOA beyond its current binary framework, under which an entire country is either in or out.

It will shift towards one that extends benefits to the individual producers and regions that align with market-based principles and sound ethics.

Sakeliga submitted its proposal to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on 15 May 2026.

It said a renewed AGOA will work for the sections of African countries that want to meet its market-based standards and ethical requirements.

“It is preferable to an AGOA that is inaccessible to anyone at all in those countries,” Sakeliga explained.

Sakeliga’s submission, therefore, proposes modernising AGOA through two mechanisms.

• Access for compliant businesses: Trade benefits can be granted directly to individual producers and manufacturers that demonstrate adherence to market principles and labour standards.

• Eligibility for compliant regions: Trade access can be extended to specific subnational jurisdictions, such as provinces, municipalities, or economic zones, if they meet US standards on property rights and trade barriers.

“Both of these mechanisms would rely largely on existing US customs procedures, while moving AGOA towards greater flexibility,” Sakeliga said.

“This aligns with what many legislators, businesses, and policy analysts have advocated for over several years now.”

Sakeliga said the AGOA proposal aims to give South African businesses and jurisdictions a reason and a route to resist harmful domestic policies.

It also presents the United States with an attractive, workable mechanism of targeted reciprocity, stronger enforceability, and self-funded verification.