U.S. to cut South Africa, Rwanda from AGOA on Jan. 1, 2027

The United States said Monday it will remove South Africa and Rwanda from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), ending their duty-free access to the U.S. market on Jan. 1, 2027.

South Africa has been the biggest beneficiary of the programme. Al Jazeera, citing Reuters, reported that it exported about US$1.7 billion in goods to the U.S. under AGOA in 2025, including cars, farm products and wine.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said both governments are “engaging in practices that are inconsistent with AGOA’s eligibility criteria.” The BBC reported that President Donald Trump notified Congress of his intention to end the two countries’ participation, and that both governments were also told directly. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office published a statement on the decision.

AGOA lets eligible African countries export thousands of products to the U.S. without tariffs. Beneficiaries must show progress toward market-based economies, good governance and the removal of barriers to U.S. trade and investment, and Washington reviews their eligibility every year.

In South Africa’s case, the U.S. cited barriers to trade and investment, corruption, and concerns about national security and foreign policy interests, Reuters reported. The Trump administration has also criticized South Africa over its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which Israel denies, and over claims that white people are persecuted there. South Africa’s government says those claims are false.

For Rwanda, Washington raised concerns about human rights, political pluralism, the rule of law and workers’ rights, the BBC reported. Rwanda was also suspended from the programme in 2018. The decision comes about a week after the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Rwanda’s defence ministry over its alleged role backing M23 rebels in eastern Congo. Rwanda’s main exports to the U.S. include coffee, tea and minerals.

There was no immediate response from either government on Monday. South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition said last week that it was prepared for a negative outcome and remained open to dialogue with Washington. It noted that AGOA exports make up only about 10 per cent of the country’s total exports to the U.S. and 1 per cent of its total global exports.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has said in recent weeks that South Africa must prepare to be cut out of the programme, and that it is already seeking new markets and signing trade deals with partners such as China. U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell III called the outcome “predictable and preventable” in a post on X.

AGOA is a U.S. programme and does not change Canada’s own trade rules. The move matters to Canadians with family and business ties in South Africa and Rwanda, and it adds to the strain between Washington and African governments that Canadian officials and companies working on the continent will be watching.

The change takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, unless the U.S. reverses course before then.

Via Al Jazeera (Reuters) and the BBC.

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