Washington plans to end South Africa and Rwanda’s AGOA eligibility on Jan. 1, 2027, putting preferences on South African exports valued at $1.7 billion in 2025 at risk.
On Nov. 2, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said President Donald Trump had notified Congress and both governments of his intent. South Africa said it received 60 days’ advance notice and would continue engaging with Washington. EconoTimes previously covered the planned end of the two countries’ AGOA benefits.
AGOA gives eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa preferential U.S. tariffs on qualifying goods, including duty-free treatment for some products. Congress extended the program through Dec. 31, 2028, in a law signed Sept. 2.
USTR’s annual review concluded that practices in both countries failed to meet AGOA’s eligibility standards. The agency cited trade and investment barriers and risks to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests in the region. It also raised corruption concerns about South Africa and cited human rights, worker rights, political pluralism and rule-of-law concerns in Rwanda. USTR’s release did not specify which laws or episodes underpinned its concerns.
South Africa’s trade department valued AGOA shipments from the country at about $1.7 billion in 2025, or roughly 1% of its worldwide exports. The program covered about 10% of South African exports to the U.S. that year, the department said, compared with 28% in 2024. The government said effects would differ by sector and that it was assessing possible implications for workers, exporters, businesses and communities connected to AGOA supply chains.
South Africa said it had tabled additional concessions through appropriate channels. Separately, it said negotiations with the United States began in 2025 and that Washington was raising new issues. The government put bilateral trade at $28.8 billion in 2025. It also said more than 600 American companies operate in South Africa and support about 134,600 jobs, without dating those figures.
Rwanda’s apparel benefits under AGOA were suspended effective July 31, 2018, although USTR listed the country as eligible for the program in 2026. The planned action concerns its remaining eligibility. The announced terminations are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
