South Africa and Rwanda lose US duty-free access
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Tuko
South Africa and Rwanda will be excluded from the US AGOA programme, which provides duty-free access to the US market, bringing to 19 the number of affected African countries. The suspension will take effect on 1 January 2027 after an annual review by the US administration, according to the US trade representative cited by Tuko.
The suspension of South Africa and Rwanda from the US AGOA programme will take effect on 1 January 2027, bringing to 19 the number of African countries denied duty-free access to the US market, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The decision was announced after an annual review of eligibility conditions and its notification to the US Congress.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the two governments were adopting practices incompatible with AGOA criteria. Washington particularly accuses South Africa of trade and investment barriers, corruption problems and measures deemed contrary to US security and foreign policy interests. For Rwanda, the cited reasons also concern the rule of law, political pluralism, workers’ rights and human rights.
The exclusion announced on 3 November had already been reported in South Africa and Rwanda’s suspension from AGOA. The measure comes after US Treasury sanctions targeting Rwanda’s defence ministry, which Washington accuses of supporting rebels in eastern DR Congo.
