A US congressional committee set the wheels in motion to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to 2028.
South Africa’s inclusion remains uncertain due to the continued tension between it and the US. AGOA gives duty-free access to the US market for eligible African countries, without requiring any reciprocal US access to their markets.
Highlights
- AGOA is the cornerstone of economic relations between the U.S. and sub-Saharan African nations.
- AGOA has the most stringent eligibility criteria of any trade preference program; countries must meet strict standards related to rule of law and political pluralism, anti-corruption, intellectual property rights, human rights and market access. Further, the program ensures beneficiaries do not undermine U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.
- An extended lapse in AGOA would create a void that malign actors like China and Russia will seek to fill.
- Africa is home to approximately 30 percent of the world’s critical mineral resources and China has invested $8 to $10 billion in Africa to try to monopolize these essential supply chains.
- The Trump Administration has focused on stability in Africa, most recently evidenced by President Trump’s work to secure peace between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Congress’s Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith said, “The renewal of bipartisan trade programs (like) AGOA … serves America’s economic and national security interests. Africa alone is home to roughly one third of all the world’s critical minerals. China celebrates when America takes a step back from the continent and extending these programs ensures that won’t happen.”