Washington removes South Africa from AGOA programme
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on SABC News
The United States has removed South Africa from the AGOA trade programme from January, depriving its exporters of the duty-free access provided under the scheme. The COSATU trade union federation fears higher costs and job losses, particularly for exporting farmers, according to SABC News.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has called on the government to intervene quickly following the announced removal of South Africa from AGOA, the US programme providing preferential trade access for African countries. South African exporters will be able to continue selling to the United States, but will have to bear an additional tariff cost of around 3.5%, said Matthew Parks, the federation’s parliamentary coordinator, quoted by SABC News.
COSATU is particularly concerned about job losses in agriculture, especially among citrus producers in the Western Cape, Limpopo and the Northern Cape. Matthew Parks also reported that jobs had already been cut over the past 18 months, which he linked to fluctuations in US tariffs.
The union’s reaction comes after the United States confirmed on 2 November that South Africa would be removed from AGOA in 2027, followed by the announcement of its exclusion scheduled for 2027. Pretoria said on 28 October that it wanted to diversify its exports amid uncertainty over the continuation of these trade preferences.
