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Though this may be good news for South Africa, a cloud of uncertainty and anxiety still lingers over the political leadership and the business community at large, as the US President Donald Trump still has to give the AGOA extension the thumbs up.
The United States House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Extension Bill by a majority vote of 340 in support and 54 against. Interestingly enough, the proposed extension of AGOA enjoyed a bipartisan support in the House; this includes Trump’s party, the Republicans.
The bill proposes reauthorization of AGOA with all beneficiaries included for three years until 2028.
The Minister for the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) Mr Parks Tau has since welcomed this move by the House of Representatives.
The bill will now proceed to the Senate for consideration and approval before it is sent to the US President for his approval. The process is still a nail biting one for South Africa as Trump has been hostile towards South Africa, and tensions are escalating by the day between the two countries.
“While South Africa, together with other AGOA-eligible countries, have been advocating for a long-term renewal of AGOA with all countries retained in the programme, the current renewal while short provides the necessary relief to companies in the context of the tariffs implemented by the United States. This will provide certainty and predictability for African and American businesses that rely on the programme.
The renewal of AGOA will complement and support the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area and creation of regional value chains, as well as support American business that depend on inputs and products imported into the US market under AGOA,” said the Spokesperson to the Minister Kaamil Alli.
According to Alli, Minister Tau emphasized that South Africa values its longstanding trade and investment relationship with the US, our third largest export destination in the world, and a critical partner in driving mutually beneficial economic growth, industrialisation, and job creation. AGOA has been important in this partnership for over two decades, supporting thousands of jobs in both countries and contributing to stable supply chains across key sectors notably in automotive, shipbuilding, agriculture, chemicals, and apparel.
According to the South African Revenue Services data, SA-US total bilateral trade was $15 billion in 2024, with South Africa’s exports at $8 billion and imports at $7 billion resulting in a trade surplus of US$1 billion, dominated by South Africa’s exports of commodities. South Africa’s exports in 2025 (January to September) stood at $5.9 billion.
In 2024, SA exports to the US consisted of platinum (25.4%); followed by Articles of precious metals (18.7%) and motor vehicles (16.5%); Diamonds (7.3%); Gold (4.7%). Under AGOA, the major South African exports were automotives, ferro-alloys, citrus, jewellery, nuts, chemicals, wines, engines and turbines, and ships and boats.
SA in turn is the largest sub-Saharan African importer of goods from the US; and the biggest source of foreign direct investment to the US from the African continent and a crucial supplier of raw materials to many US supply-chains.
South Africa and the United States continue to engage with each other in the negotiation of an Agreement on Reciprocal Tariffs aimed at promoting mutually beneficial trade and investment relations and address trade barriers that affect bilateral trade.
