US plans to end South Africa and Rwanda’s AGOA eligibility in January

Tuesday 3rd November 2026

By inAfrika Newsroom

The United States has notified Rwanda and South Africa that it intends to end their eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act from 1 January 2027.

In a statement dated 2 November, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said President Donald Trump had notified Congress and both governments of his intention. The statement follows an annual interagency review of eligibility for AGOA, which provides preferential treatment for qualifying exports from eligible African countries.

The U.S. administration cited concerns about trade and investment barriers and national-security and foreign-policy interests in both countries. It also raised corruption concerns in South Africa and governance, worker-rights and human-rights concerns in Rwanda; these are the administration’s stated grounds for its decision.

The commercial exposure is concentrated rather than uniform. Reuters reported that South Africa exported about USD1.7 billion under AGOA in 2025, mainly vehicles and parts and agricultural products such as citrus and wine, while almost 90% of its exports to the U.S. did not use the programme.

Responding to the notice, South Africa’s Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau said the government would accelerate export-market diversification to protect jobs, according to SABC’s 2 November report. He also said AGOA represented only part of the economic relationship with the United States.

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