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The recent AGOA summit in Johannesburg beckoned calls for its extension beyond September 2025. With a backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and US-Africa relations at a delicate juncture, the summit explored the potential reshaping of trade norms, eyeing a more balanced economic relationship. The annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) summit was held in Johannesburg, South Africa last week, amidst landmark changes, with calls for its renewal beyond the current expiry in September 2025. It was also announced that four...

South Africa’s government is hoping that the process to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) by the US Congress will be concluded by early 2024, ensuring that more than 20 African countries continue to have duty-free access to the world’s largest economy.   This is the first time that the South African government has given a timeline for when it hopes the US Congress might extend Agoa, which has been renewed twice since it was launched in 2000, and is due to expire in September 2025.  In his closing...

African and US companies will soon enjoy a partnership of trading and investment building on provisions provided under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). This is according to a new Memorandum of Understanding signed between the AfCFTA Secretariat and Corporate Council on Africa – an American organisation devoted to fostering US-Africa business relations – with an aim to increase private sector support and involvement in realising the goals of the continental trade agreement. The MOU is articulated around key sectors...

The United States says it is committed to supporting regional integration in Africa, seeing it as essential for the continent's economic development and prosperity. At a conference on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) in Johannesburg, US officials said they were backing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), even though there will be variations on country specific trading arrangements. Agoa is a trade agreement that provides duty-free access to the US market for special categories of products from eligible...

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today delivered remarks during the closing ceremony of the 20th African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum. In her remarks, Ambassador Tai reiterated the United States’ commitment to strengthen the U.S.-Africa trade and investment relationship to deliver real opportunities across our societies. Ambassador Tai also highlighted the need to make the AGOA program more effective and relevant to today’s challenges, and to explore additional areas of cooperation to complement the...

African leaders are asking for refinements to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), rather than a full review, according to trade and industry minister Ebrahim Patel. Patel was giving his closing remarks during the final stretch of the 20th Agoa forum. “We were clear that we did not want a major rewrite of Agoa. We’re not looking for Agoa to be scrapped and a complete rewrite,” the minister said. “We’re looking for refinements. And the reason for that is, every African minister who spoke emphasised that...

In 1998, Bill Clinton embarked on the longest and most extensive trip to Africa by any sitting US president in history at the time. His goal? To forge ties with a continent which was viewed as something of a backwater during the Cold War. During a speech he gave after meeting South Africa’s then president, Nelson Mandela, Clinton remarked that the hope for Africa’s future was stronger than it had been in a generation. Two years later, he signed the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) into law, putting the...

The US aims to ensure that its preferential trade pact with Africa is replaced without interruption when it expires in two-year’s time, while bringing it up to date. “We want to make sure that as of Sept. 30, 2025, that there will be another Agoa that will pick up from this one,” said US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, referring to the African Growth and Opportunity Act. “It is a seamless renewal that we’re looking for,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Johannesburg broadcast on...

President Joe Biden's administration wants to work with Congress to improve the United States' flagship trade programme with Africa, not just renew it without changes, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday. First launched in 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) grants exports from qualifying African countries duty-free access to the United States - the world's largest consumer market. It is due to expire in September 2025, and discussions are currently under way over what would be its...

As the United States seeks to deepen its relationships with African nations and counter the influence of rivals like Russia and China, it confronts a tricky question: How does it respond when countries do things that run afoul of Washington’s stated commitment to democracy and human rights? That tension hung over a major trade conference between the U.S. and African countries that started in Johannesburg this week, after President Biden announced that he was suspending four nations from a critical trade program that aims to...

Africa wants the US Congress to renew its flagship trade programme for the continent for at least 10 years, the African Union’s top trade official said on Thursday, adding that any modifications to the initiative should only be considered later. Speaking at the start of three days of meetings of African trade ministers and US officials, AU Trade Commissioner Albert Muchanga also said the United States will not be granted tariff free access to a new African free trade area. First launched in 2000, the African Growth and...

African trade ministers, including South Africa’s, are pushing for the annual eligibility reviews of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) to be conducted every three years instead of annually to allow for predictability and certainty for investors. This is after four beneficiary countries, Uganda, Niger, the Central African Republic and Gabon, were kicked out of the trade programme on the eve of the forum’s annual summit in Johannesburg partially because of human rights issues. Agoa requires that US legislators conduct annual...

The future of what was billed as a game-changing trade agreement between Africa and the US is up for discussion in the South African city of Johannesburg over the next few days, with calls for it to be turned into a much longer-term pact, despite some criticism of the deal. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) was signed into law by former United States President Bill Clinton in May 2000, in a bid to improve trade and investment ties with sub-Saharan Africa on the basis that the best way to raise living standards on the continent...

I strongly support reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act— a landmark, bipartisan law that has formed a bedrock for U.S. trade with sub-Saharan Africa for more than two decades. I encourage Congress to reauthorize AGOA in a timely fashion and to modernize this important Act for the economic opportunities of the coming decade. AGOA is facilitating private-sector led economic growth across sub-Saharan Africa by increasing the competitiveness of African products, diversifying African exports, and enabling the creation of...

President Biden decided to reinstate African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program benefits for one country, Mauritania, and to terminate benefits for four countries – Gabon, Niger, the Central African Republic, and Uganda – effective January 1, 2024. Based on the results of the annual AGOA eligibility review, Mauritania’s eligibility will be reinstated based on progress that it has made with respect to the 2019 termination of its benefits due to worker rights concerns, as well as the government’s willingness to...

Dear Mr. Speaker:   (Dear Madam President:) In accordance with section 506A(a)(3)(B) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2466a(a)(3)(B)), I am providing advance notification of my intent to terminate the designation of the Central African Republic, the Gabonese Republic (Gabon), Niger, and the Republic of Uganda (Uganda) as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). I am taking this step because I have determined that the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and...

This was the message of a briefing by United States officials ahead of this week’s AGOA forum in Johannesburg, where the trade pact’s renewal will be discussed.  The trade deal — which provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the US market — is due to expire in 2025. Agoa beneficiaries will be asking for the Act, which was signed into law during Bill Clinton’s administration, be renewed for another 10 years. “When Agoa was enacted in 2000, we hoped that it would be a game-changer for...

  U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) led 11 of their Senate colleagues in an open letter, urging Senate leadership to prioritize reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in the coming months. AGOA’s authorization expires in September 2025.  The Senators write, “The African Growth and Opportunity Act is the foundation of the United States’ economic relationship with sub-Saharan Africa. By lowering the cost of trade and encouraging investment in the region, AGOA creates...

Ahead of the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum, to be hosted by South Africa next week, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa, Constance Hamilton, has expressed hope that the U.S. Congress would renew AGOA once again and ensure increased support for regional integration in Africa. Hamilton spoke yesterday during a digital press briefing to highlight the importance of U.S.-Africa economic ties and the 20th AGOA Forum as an opportunity to receive feedback from African partners and private sector...

A US State Department official has disclosed that the decision to reinstate Ethiopia’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is “still pending”. Constance Hamilton, Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa, made this statement during a digital press briefing held on Thursday.  “Those decisions are still pending,” Ms Hamilton told journalists from the continent, and that “there probably will not be an announcement at the time that we get to the AGOA Forum,” she said referring to the upcoming...

Trade, industry & competition minister Ebrahim Patel says SA is ready to roll out the red carpet for the US ahead of the 20th African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum taking place at Nasrec in Johannesburg next week. “What we are seeking to do is provide a platform in the discussion to reflect on the experience that the African continent and the US has had on Agoa, to look at how we can get more from the trade relationship by complementing Agoa with other measures and the common African position on Agoa, which is to have...

The 2023 AGOA Forum will be taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 2-4 November. It features a ministerial and private sector program, as well as a private sector expo, that includes B2B sourcing and matchmaking.  Visit the   AGOA.info Forum section by following this link or use the drop down menu in the menu bar. Downloads and links are also available in that section, including draft agenda details. As further information is finalised, additional details will be added.    Selected background...

Ahead of South Africa hosting the US-AfricaTrade and Economic Cooperation Forum – also called the AGOA Forum – from November 2 to 4, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel on October 26 briefed the media on the state of readiness for the forum, expressing confidence that the South African government’s relations with the US were strong. Various South African stakeholders have been motivating for the extension and renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) US preferential trade...

A large number of African Trade Ministers and their delegations are expected to attend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum taking place in South Africa next week. “The US delegation at the Forum will be led by the US Trade Secretary Ambassador [Katherine Tai] together with members of the Congress, businesspeople and business delegation from around the continent,” Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel said. Addressing the media on the state of South Africa’s readiness to host the AGOA Forum in Sandton,...

MODERATOR:  All right.  Good afternoon to everyone from the U.S. Department of State’s Africa Regional Media Hub.  I welcome our participants logging in from across the continent and thank all of you for joining this discussion.  Today, we are very pleased to be joined by the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa Constance Hamilton and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs of the State Department Joy Basu.  Our speakers will be discussing the importance of the U.S.-Africa...

Members of the media are invited to attend and cover a crucial engagement where the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Ebrahim Patel will provide a comprehensive update on South Africa's preparedness for hosting the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum, along with insights into the forthcoming program. Your attendance and coverage are highly valued. Event Details: Date              : Thursday, 26 October 2023Time              : 09:45Venue...

It is notable that South Africa will still host the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Private Sector Forum next month, given that several US lawmakers have called for it to be moved elsewhere, and have questioned the country’s preferential trade terms with the US under Agoa as such preferential access to the US markets is open only to African countries that do not threaten American security interests. This is according to business organisation Business Leadership...

The legislation that allows Sub-Saharan African countries, including SA, preferential access to US markets could be extended by 20 years beyond 2025 if the US Congress approves a bill introduced by Louisiana senator John Kennedy. Kennedy wants the legislation extended to 2045 because it would help deter “China’s growing influence throughout the region. This extension would allow the US to keep working closely with African nations to grow our economies, reduce poverty and ensure that US values prevail in the region,” according to a...

It is almost certain that South Africa’s Agoa status will be renewed despite it and the US often being on opposite sides over geopolitical crises in the past year. The eligibility of countries for the US’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) has been under review during the past few months, and it is becoming clearer that South Africa is one of the countries that will continue being a part of the trade programme. A strong indication of this is that the annual AGOA Forum will take place in Johannesburg between 1-4...

The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is unilateral and non-reciprocal US legislation that aims to promote trans-border trade between the US and African nations. It enables the US to give preferential trade benefits to African countries that satisfy eligibility requirements: these include social, political and economic governance targets. In 2019, however, the emergence of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) created uncertainties over the renewal of AGOA, which expires in 2025. Some observers suggested that instead...

Trade negotiations between Kenya and the United States entered the third round last week, with four items listed for negotiations. The Kenya-US Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) negotiations, held from October 4-7 in Washington DC, covered agriculture and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, services, domestic regulations, anti-corruption; and women, youth among others. The Kenyan trade team also held discussions with staff from the US Congress and Senate, a significant step in seeking approval from both Houses should...

It was a drive to explore international trade that saw entrepreneurial sisters, Michelle and Mo Mokone, grabbing an opportunity to venture into the United States of America market. The pair are the co-owners of Mo’s Crib, a company that produces a range of handmade home décor products.  Their product range includes handwoven baskets, planters, trays, wall art and home outdoor items. It was in 2021 that the pair decided to take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a United States Trade Act, which was enacted...

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today introduced the AGOA Extension Act of 2023, a bill that would extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through September 2045. The AGOA has been key in helping the United States work with sub-Saharan Africa to facilitate trade, reduce poverty, promote democracy and counter China’s growing influence in the region. “The African Growth and Opportunity Act has been the cornerstone of economic ties between the United States and Africa. Over the next two decades, the AGOA will play a pivotal role in...

By serendipity I found myself attending a hearing in the US Capitol last week on the US-SA bilateral relationship. Such hearings are easy for members of the public to access and, given an afternoon free in Washington between other meetings, I attended. The most striking feature of the hearings was the common refrain that the ANC was failing. It was taken as a given that the ANC is delivering poor governance. US support was framed as needing to support the people and institutions of democracy, largely against the ineffective governance...

SA is to argue strongly that its participation in the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa) benefits neighbouring countries through shared value chains, said trade, industry and competition minister Ebrahim Patel on Tuesday. The argument will be made in November when the Agoa forum meets in Johannesburg that neighbouring countries will suffer significant losses if SA is excluded from the scheme, which provides preferential access to certain products from Africa to the US market. The forum will bring together the governments of the US...

The World Economic Forum in Davos this year acknowledged a world grappling with multiple crises characterised by Covid-19, conflicts, soaring living costs, and climate change. Amid these challenges, Africa's economic potential is garnering global recognition. Its emerging role in markets and geopolitics is set to expand, driven by its natural resources and promising economic prospects. This reality underscores the urgency for Africa to confront its trade-related hurdles, including convoluted regulations, restricted market access, and...

The  South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) will be co-hosting the United States of America’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum for 2023. The summit takes place on 2– 4 November 2023 in Johannesburg. Members of the media who wish to cover the event are requested to fill in the  accreditation form and send it back to Charles Mnisi on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.(link sends e-mail) to comply with state security requirements. The deadline for submission of the forms is 8 October...

President Joe Biden’s agenda is chock-full with many competing and challenging issues. Nevertheless, at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit last December, the president said that he would visit Africa in 2023. No details have been made public, but hopefully planning is well underway for what would be the first visit to the continent by a U.S. president since President Obama went to Kenya and Ethiopia in 2015. While the administration will inevitably have its own objectives for the visit, here we share ours and a recommended...

South Africa is set to host the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Summit later this year, despite recent diplomatic tensions between the country and the United States (US). In June this year, US legislators called for the relocation of the summit due to controversy surrounding alleged arms shipments to Russia by South Africa. Cleared of any wrongdoing by an internal judicial panel, the US has reaffirmed its commitment to shared growth with South Africa. “The AGOA Forum is an opportunity for the United States to build upon the...

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and South African Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel today announced that the Government of South Africa will host the 20th US-sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (AGOA Forum) in Johannesburg, from November 2-4, 2023. The Forum will bring together the governments of the United States and AGOA-eligible countries, as well as representatives from key regional economic organizations, the private sector, civil society, and labor. Over the course of the...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has told American business representatives that Africa is ready for new investment and strong partnerships. The President was delivering remarks at the US - South Africa Trade and Investment Business Roundtable Dialogue in New York on Monday.  “Africa is ready for new investment and strong partnerships. South Africa is well positioned as the continent’s industrial centre, with deep capital markets, the rule of law, protection of property rights and a dynamic and youthful population.  “The...

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is organizing a record number of meetings and events on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to help foster public-private collaboration and underscore the indispensable role of the private sector in realizing the UN’s global targets. As part of this effort, the U.S. Chamber’s U.S.-Africa Business Center (USAfBC) today hosted the U.S.-South Africa Trade and Investment Executive Dialogue with the President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa. President Ramaphosa...

Nigerian-born United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, will be in Lagos, Nigeria between September 17 – 19, 2023, for a number of diplomatic engagements including a meeting with entrepreneurs and start-ups to discuss how they can sell their products by exploring “duty-free access” to the US market. Duty-free access is the permission given by a host country for another country to export goods into their country without having to pay tax or import duty. A statement published by the US Embassy and Consulate in...

In an effort to extend South Africa’s preferential trade agreement with the US, trade, industry & competition minister Ebrahim Patel is holding high-level meetings with US legislators ahead of the UN General Assembly this week.  President Cyril Ramaphosa is understood to have attended some of the meetings, including with senator Gregory Meeks, the foreign affairs committee chair who called on the US to strip SA of the right to host the 2023 Agoa forum, accusing Pretoria of supporting Russia in its war in Ukraine. SA has...

Kenya's President William Ruto will address leading US technology companies and investors on Friday at the US-Kenya Business Roadshow in San Francisco organised by the American government’s Prosper Africa initiative. The roadshow - also co-organised by the US Embassy in Nairobi - highlights the business and investment potential in Kenya’s booming tech sector, a statement from the US Embassy in Kenya said. The event is part of a three-city US-Kenya Roadshow tour showcasing opportunities for companies exploring doing business and...

The coming AGOA forum, intended to map the way forward for US-SA trade relations, presents an opportunity for SA and the US to move on from the diplomatic storm stemming from perceptions that Pretoria sides with Russia in its war on Ukraine, says a top Washington official.  SA-US tension escalated in May after US ambassador to Pretoria Reuben Brigety accused SA of providing arms to Russia in December 2022. The presidency released a report in September on a finding that there was no evidence that SA supplied arms to Russia or that...

On Wednesday, the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee examined the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade program and what possible reforms could help align the program better with America’s strategic trade goals. Witnesses emphasized the importance of the United States using trade policy to benefit American workers, farmers, and small businesses while combatting China’s unfair trade practices and coercive economic model. GSP Can Be Reformed to Benefit American Workers and Producers and Help Move Supply Chains from...

There was more good news for the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement in December 2022, when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the United States (US) Trade Representative and the AfCFTA Secretariat at the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit (Summit) in Washington DC. The MoU covers expanded engagement between the two regions and intends to “promote equitable, sustainable, and inclusive trade; boost competitiveness; and attract investment to the continent.” It was also...

Loss of access to US trade benefits through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) would hurt not only the SA motor industry but also many more across Africa that depend on it for their future growth, says a new report.  Attempts to create a pan-African motor industry and quintuple the size of the continent’s new-vehicle market could be undermined if the SA industry, the strategy’s main driver, is weakened, the report by motor industry association Naamsa says.  The SA government’s flirtations with Russia, most...

About 26 535 tonnes of sugar is shipped yearly to the Unites States of America through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Eswatini Sugar Association (ESA) Logistics Manager, Sibusiso Hlandze said the local sugar was exported  to a terminal in Maputo, Mozambique. He said the terminal,called the Sociedade Terminal De Acucar De Maputo (STAM), played a significant role in the country's sugar industry. It is owned by four sugar companies in four countries namely Eswatini, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. According to...