U.S. President Donald Trump has notified the Congress of his intention to remove South Africa and Rwanda from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a preferential trade program which allows eligible African countries to export thousands of products to the US duty-free.
According to Trump’s letter, South Africa and Rwanda will be excluded from the U.S. duty-free initiative starting January 1, 2027. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement the decision was made
after an annual review had found that both countries were engaging in practices inconsistent with the program’s eligibility requirements.
He added that the Trump administration had additionally notified the two countries of the decision. The Trump administration cited barriers to US trade and investment, as well as concerns over national security and foreign policy interests in the region. For South Africa, the US pointed to corruption.
In a letter to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump said Pretoria’s actions on international security and its relations and cooperation with governments of concern to Washington risked undermining American national security and foreign policy interests.
He also accused South Africa of maintaining significant barriers to American trade and investment, including restrictions affecting agricultural market access, regulatory requirements, investment protections and intellectual property.
The announcement comes amid strained relations between Washington and the African countries, with the proposed termination threatening their access to preferential trade arrangements with the United States.
Last year, Trump accused South Africa of persecuting its white minority and launched a programme for white Afrikaners to get asylum in the US.
Trump also repeated widely discredited claims of a genocide of South Africa’s white population.
In Rwanda, Washington also raised concerns about human rights, political pluralism, the rule of law and workers’ rights. Some experts say the American decision is most likely linked to the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where Washington says Rwanda is backing rebels.
The US has already imposed sanctions on a number of Rwandan individuals and institutions, including the military and a gold refinery. Rwanda has been subject to a partial suspension since 2018 that does not allow it to export apparel under AGOA, due to import tariffs that the US considers a barrier to trade.