US President Donald Trump has notified Congress of his intention to remove South Africa and Rwanda from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) preferential trade programme, effective January 1, 2027.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the decision on Monday following an annual interagency review of sub-Saharan African countries’ eligibility for the programme.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said President Trump found that the governments of Rwanda and South Africa were engaging in practices inconsistent with AGOA’s eligibility criteria.
These include barriers that undermine American trade and investment, as well as practices that pose a threat to US national security and foreign policy interests in the region.
For Rwanda, the administration cited additional concerns over the rule of law, political pluralism, internationally recognised worker rights and human rights.
For South Africa, it highlighted barriers to US trade and investment, corruption and threats to US national security and foreign policy interests.
AGOA allows eligible African countries to export thousands of products to the United States duty-free. South Africa has been one of the largest beneficiaries of the programme.
Greer said the Trump administration is working to ensure African partners take the necessary steps to meet the eligibility criteria.
AbdulBasit Saba is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
