South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) has expressed confidence that the expired African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) will be renewed for at least one year, citing bipartisan support in the United States Congress and backing from the White House.
Briefing Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition on Tuesday, Deputy Director-General for Trade Policy, Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter, said the renewal is expected to be a “straight rollover” of the current programme, meaning South Africa and other qualifying countries would retain duty-free access to the US market without immediate changes to eligibility criteria.
“There’s still bipartisan support for the renewal of AGOA, and the White House has indicated it also supports renewal for a period of one year,” Mlumbi-Peter told the committee.
AGOA, which provided duty-free access for thousands of African products into the United States, officially expired on 30 September 2025.
Mlumbi-Peter noted that Republican Senator John Kennedy has introduced legislation proposing a two-year extension, while the influential House Ways and Means Committee is still scheduled to deliberate on the matter.
“What is expected will be a straight rollover of the existing members, which will mean that, as South Africa, once it is rolled over, we will continue to benefit under the programme,” she said.
South Africa is one of the largest beneficiaries of AGOA, exporting vehicles, citrus, wine, steel and other products worth billions of dollars annually to the US under the preferential scheme.
The DTIC’s optimism comes despite growing calls in some US political circles for stricter eligibility conditions and concerns over South Africa’s foreign policy positions, including its stance on international conflicts and ties with BRICS partners.
Industry bodies have warned that prolonged uncertainty could lead to factory closures and job losses in export-dependent sectors if duty-free access is not restored soon.
The department said it continues to engage US counterparts on both the renewal of AGOA and separate bilateral tariff negotiations.