US to Drop South Africa and Rwanda From AGOA Duty-Free Trade

President Donald Trump has notified Congress and the governments of South Africa and Rwanda that he intends to terminate both countries from the African Growth and Opportunity Act trade preference program as of Jan. 1, 2027, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a Nov. 2 statement.

AGOA lets eligible sub-Saharan African countries ship thousands of products to the United States without duties. Greer said an annual interagency review led by his office found that both governments are engaging in practices inconsistent with the program’s eligibility criteria, including barriers that undermine American trade and investment and practices that the administration says threaten U.S. national security and foreign policy interests in the region.

What Washington cited

For South Africa, the USTR statement listed barriers to U.S. trade and investment, corruption, and threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. BBC News reported that a letter from Trump to President Cyril Ramaphosa also cited Pretoria’s international security posture, ties to governments of concern to Washington, and restrictions affecting agricultural market access, regulatory requirements, investment protections and intellectual property.

For Rwanda, Greer listed trade and investment barriers, rule of law, political pluralism, internationally recognized worker rights, human rights, and threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. Deutsche Welle, citing U.S. actions, reported that Washington sanctioned Rwanda’s defense ministry last week over alleged support for M23 rebels in eastern Congo; Rwanda denies backing the group.

Scale of the preference

South Africa has been AGOA’s largest beneficiary. Deutsche Welle reported about $1.7 billion in South African goods such as car parts, citrus and wine entered the United States under AGOA in 2025. South Africa’s Trade Minister Parks Tau said about 10% of South African exports to the United States benefited from AGOA in 2025, down from 28% in 2024, with the rest mostly under ordinary World Trade Organization terms, according to BBC News. Tau called the decision “unfortunate” and said Pretoria would speed diversification of export markets.

BBC News said Rwanda’s exports to the United States rose to $43.3 million in 2025 from $13.1 million in 2024. Greer said the administration is working to ensure African partners take steps needed to meet eligibility criteria. AGOA dates to 2000 and was extended earlier this year, Deutsche Welle reported.

Developing: Termination is scheduled for Jan. 1, 2027; USTR has not said whether either country could regain eligibility before that date if it changes course.

Sources: Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, BBC News, Deutsche Welle.