US authorises short extension to longstanding African trade agreement
US President Donald Trump has extended a 26-year-old free-trade agreement with African countries that was left in doubt last year when his administration allowed it to expire while enforcing his policy of reciprocal tariffs.
Trump last Tuesday signed into law an extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act or AGOA, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
But the extension is short-term, lasting only until December 31. The trade office said the agreement, which gives eligible sub-Saharan African nations duty-free access to the US market for some products, would be modified to account for tariffs the US has imposed on other countries as part of the Republican President’s America First policy.
The agreement is key to many African countries that feared it would be another economic blow following the new tariffs and cuts to US Aid under Trump.
AGOA was introduced in 2000 under former US President Bill Clinton. Only some nations are eligible and the US can remove countries that fail to meet requirements including establishing market-based economies or upholding democratic standards and human rights.
The East African nation of Uganda was removed in 2024 by the Biden administration for enacting a strict anti-gay law that the US called a human rights violation.
The agreement allows some 1,800 products to be exported to the US duty-free, including crude oil, cars and car parts, clothing, textiles and agricultural produce.
It drives much of the trade between the US and Africa, which was valued at more than $100 billion in 2024 by the US trade office.
AGOA included 34 African countries when the Trump administration allowed the expiration at the end of September, with many businesses in those nations claiming the end of the deal would endanger tens of thousands of jobs.
The extension until the end of 2026 is short compared to the 10-year extension agreement when it previously came up for renewal in 2015.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement last Tuesday that the Trump administration would work with Congress “to modernise the programme to align with President Trump’s America First trade policy” without giving details of possible changes.
