South Africa removed from the United States’ AGOA

The United States has removed South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), ending duty-free access to its markets for key industries.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the decision on Monday, 2 November 2026.

AGOA was enacted in 2000, and South Africa has been the largest beneficiary of the programme over the last 25 years, accounting for 54% of all AGOA-related exports to the US.

The programme provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the US market for more than 1,800 products.

This is in addition to the more than 5,000 products eligible for duty-free access under the Generalised System of Preferences programme.

The programme expired in September 2025, but was retroactively extended to December 2026 back in February. This will now come to an end for South Africa.

Ambassador Jamieson Greer issued a statement following President Donald Trump’s notices to Congress and the South African government.

He notified the South African government of his intent to terminate the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program from 1 January 2027.

“The Office of the United States Trade Representative led the annual interagency review of sub-Saharan African countries’ eligibility for the AGOA program,” Greer said.

“Based on the review, President Trump found that the South African government is engaging in practices that are inconsistent with AGOA’s eligibility criteria.”

These practices include, but are not limited to, barriers that undermine American trade and investment.

They also involve practices that threaten U.S. national security and foreign policy interests in the region.

“The Trump Administration is working to ensure our African partners take the necessary steps to meet the eligibility criteria,” he said.

Greer explained that the Trump Administration is concerned by barriers to U.S. trade and investment in South Africa.

Other concerns from the administration include corruption and threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.