The Government of the United States has communicated its decision to remove South Africa and Rwanda from the trade preferences program provided for in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA, by its acronym in English), a measure that will take effect on January 1, 2027.
"The Office of the United States Trade Representative has led the annual interagency review on the eligibility of sub-Saharan African countries for the program," the representative himself, Jamieson Greer, announced in a statement in which he says that, "based on said review," the tenant of the White House, Donald Trump, has determined that "the governments of Rwanda and South Africa are carrying out practices that do not meet the eligibility criteria".
Greer has described these actions as "concerning and widespread" and has pointed among them to "barriers that undermine U.S. trade and investment, as well as practices that represent a threat to national security and the foreign policy interests of the United States in the region".
In the case of Rwanda, the Trump Administration points to "barriers to trade and investment, the rule of law, political pluralism, internationally recognized labor rights, Human Rights, and threats to national security and to U.S. foreign policy interests". As for South Africa, Washington likewise expresses "concern over barriers to U.S. trade and investment" and "threats to national security and to foreign policy interests" of the United States, to which it adds "corruption".
On the other hand, the United States ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, has considered it "regrettable that South African policies have led to South Africa's exclusion from the AGOA program", a result he has described as "foreseeable and avoidable" and which he has linked to "the fact that the South African government dismissed legitimate concerns raised" by the White House.
SOUTH AFRICA SEEKS TO EXPORT TO THE REST OF AFRICA, THE EU, INDIA AND CHINA
In reaction to this announcement, South Africa's Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mpho Parks Tau, has indicated that Pretoria will continue promoting the diversification of its export destinations to safeguard employment, opening more trade routes on the African continent, India, the European Union and China, among other markets.
At the same time, it has underscored that new destinations have already been opened for South African fruit exporters, according to reports from the South African public broadcaster SABC.
Given this new scenario, the minister has emphasized that, although the AGOA program retains its relevance for South Africa, it does not fully encompass the economic relationship between South Africa and the United States.