Washington plans to exclude South Africa and Rwanda from AGOA
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Club of Mozambique
The United States plans to remove South Africa and Rwanda from AGOA from 1 January 2027, ending their tariff benefits on the US market. Washington cites trade barriers and security, human rights and foreign policy concerns, according to the US trade representative.
US President Donald Trump has informed Congress of his intention to exclude South Africa and Rwanda from AGOA, the programme that allows eligible African countries to export thousands of products to the United States duty-free, from 1 January 2027, reports Club of Mozambique. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the programme’s annual review had found practices incompatible with its eligibility criteria.
Washington accuses the two countries of obstructing US trade and investment, as well as of problems relating to national security and foreign policy. For Rwanda, the Trump administration also cites human rights, political pluralism, the rule of law and workers’ rights. It also mentions corruption in South Africa.
The decision comes less than a week after US Treasury sanctions against Rwanda’s defence ministry, accused of directing troops alongside the M23 in eastern DR Congo. South African Trade Minister Parks Tau described the measure as “regrettable” and announced an acceleration of export market diversification. The US ambassador to Pretoria, Leo Brent Bozell III, said the exclusion resulted from the South African government’s refusal to address US concerns.
The US notification comes after Washington’s announcements on the planned removal of the two countries from trade preferences, on 2 November 2026, and then after confirmation that South Africa would leave AGOA in 2027, published the same day by the United States.
