United States officially extends AGOA for South Africa

US President Donald Trump has signed the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, which extends the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) to December 2028.

The extension was amended and approved by the US Senate** in early August** and sent to the US House of Representatives on 1 September.

The laws were passed by a majority vote, presented to Trump on Wednesday (2 September), and signed into law.

While the laws covered a much larger funding package for the US government to avoid a shutdown, the AGOA extension was buried away among the amendments.

The AGOA programme lapsed at the end of September 2025, but was retroactively extended at the start of the year to continue to the end of 2026.

The only change to AGOA in the new laws was the change of its end date from December 2026 to December 2028, effectively extending it by two years.

Trade union Solidarity welcomed the extension, saying it will provide essential economic security for key industries across sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in South Africa.

However, the union warned that South Africa’s continued eligibility for the programme is not guaranteed, citing an “ongoing debate” about whether it should remain included.

There has been a push from certain US lawmakers to explicitly exclude South Africa from the programme.

Two separate but similar bills have been introduced in the US Senate and the US House to do this, although neither has gained any traction since being tabled.

Both bills were introduced in 2025, explicitly calling for a review of the United States’ relations with South Africa and for the country to be booted from the AGOA programme.

The list of eligible countries can be reviewed and changed before January 2027.

“South Africa’s exclusion will have a devastating impact on important local industries, particularly the automotive and agricultural sectors, and will put thousands of specialised jobs at risk,” said Solidarity.

Approximately 22% of South African exports to the US benefit from AGOA, resulting in billions of dollars in trade. Estimates suggest that half a million South African jobs are dependent on the programme.

The union said it would continue to appeal to Washington to keep South Africa on the list.

Economists have called on the South African government to put the country’s economic interests at the fore and work to repair its icy relationship with the US.

This would require the government to be more pragmatic with its trade diplomacy and de-escalate tensions with the United States to protect AGOA eligibility and find a path through US tariffs.