Last week, President Trump signed legislation that reauthorizes the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program through the end of the year. This was a part of $1.2 trillion spending package that also reopened the government after a brief partial shutdown.
The AGOA provides duty-free entry into the United States for almost all African products. Congress last renewed the program for 10 years in 2015. The short extension of the trade law is retroactive to September 30, 2025, the day it expired after the last renewal.
The trade preference program has been the model behind U.S.-African trade and investment since it was enacted in 2000.
Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on January 12 renewed the AGOA for three years. Although U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer supported the three-year renewal, the White House came out of in favor of a one-year extension.
Building on Benefits
“AGOA for the 21st century must demand more from our trading partners and yield more market access for U.S. businesses, farmers, and ranchers to build upon the benefits it has historically provided to Africa and the United States,” Ambassador Greer said in a statement on February 3, the day Trump signed the AGOA reauthorization bill.
“We must also make sure that the program enhances U.S.-Africa trade and will work with Congress over the next year to modernize the program to align with President Trump’s America First Trade Policy,” Greer added.
According to the statement, the U.S. Trade Representative will work with relevant agencies in the coming days to give effect to any modifications made to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States as a result of the AGOA reauthorizing legislation.
The California Chamber of Commerce urged renewal of the AGOA, which affects 32 of the approximately 45 sub-Saharan nations. There are a total of 54 African nations. The AGOA has helped to expand and diversify African exports to the United States.
AGOA
The AGOA is the cornerstone of economic relations between the United States and sub-Saharan African nations. Since 2000, the program has fostered increased trade and investment within Africa while raising standards by promoting fair treatment for U.S. companies and farmers, human rights, anti-corruption efforts, and democracy.
U.S. businesses have invested $8 billion annually under AGOA while African trading nations are opening their markets for U.S. agricultural products.
AGOA has the most stringent eligibility criteria of any preference program; countries must undergo annual reviews to ensure they meet strict standards related to the rule of law and political pluralism, anti-corruption, intellectual property rights, human rights and market access. The program ensures beneficiaries do not undermine U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.
Africa is home to approximately 30% of the world’s critical mineral resources. China has invested $8 billion to $10 billion in Africa to try to monopolize supply chains for these resources. AGOA is one of the United States’ most valuable tools for securing its long-term economic and national security.
The AGOA embodies a trade and investment-centered approach to development. Enactment of the AGOA has stimulated the growth of the African private sector and provided incentives for further reform. By providing commercial incentives to encourage bilateral trade, the AGOA aims at transforming the relationship between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa away from aid dependence to enhanced commerce.
CalChamber Position
The CalChamber believes that it is in the mutual economic interest of the United States and sub-Saharan Africa to promote stable and sustainable economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa and that this growth depends in large measure upon the development of a receptive environment for trade and investment.
The CalChamber is supportive of the United States seeking to facilitate market-led economic growth in, and thereby the social and economic development of, the countries of sub- Saharan Africa.
In particular, the CalChamber is supportive of the United States seeking to assist sub-Saharan African countries, and the private sector in those countries, to achieve economic self-reliance.
Sub-Saharan Africa will have 25% of the world’s population by 2050. Economic self-reliance is critical for this growing population.
By providing new market opportunities, AGOA has helped bolster economic growth, promoted economic and political reform, and improved U.S. economic relations in the region.
Staff Contact: Susanne T. Stirling
