US Suspends South Africa and Rwanda from AGOA Duty-Free Trade Access

The United States intends to suspend South Africa and Rwanda from preferential duty-free access to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced on Monday.

In a statement, Greer said President Donald Trump had determined that the governments of both countries “are engaging in practices that are inconsistent with AGOA’s eligibility criteria.” The suspension is set to take effect on 1 January 2027.

“These concerning and pervasive practices include, but are not limited to, barriers that undermine American trade and investment and practices that pose a threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests in the region,” Greer stated.

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

AGOA, enacted in 2000 and periodically renewed, grants eligible sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the US market for thousands of products.

Eligibility is reviewed annually and requires adherence to standards on market-based economies, good governance, rule of law, human rights, worker rights, and the absence of barriers to US trade and investment.

South Africa has been the programme’s largest beneficiary. In 2025 it exported about $1.7 billion worth of goods to the United States under AGOA preferences, mainly motor vehicles and parts as well as agricultural products such as citrus and wine.

These AGOA exports represented roughly 10 per cent of South Africa’s total exports to the US and about 1 per cent of its overall global exports.

For South Africa, Washington cited barriers to US trade and investment, corruption, and threats to US national security and foreign policy interests.

For Rwanda, concerns focused on trade and investment barriers, rule of law, political pluralism, worker rights, human rights, and threats to US interests.

Rwanda had previously faced a partial suspension of apparel benefits in 2018.

South Africa’s trade ministry had indicated last week that it was prepared for a possible negative outcome from the annual eligibility review and remained open to dialogue with the United States.

President Cyril Ramaphosa had also said the country was exploring alternative markets.

The official statement from the Office of the United States Trade Representative confirmed that President Trump had notified Congress and the governments of both countries of the intended termination of eligibility.

By Oyinkansola Shittu.

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