Trump administration renews Africa trade pact, offers tariff relief

The Trump administration has announced plans to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), allowing the African nations to access the US markets without tariffs.

According to the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, President Donald Trump signed a law which allows reauthorisation of the trade preference program effective from December 31, 2026.

"AGOA for the 21st century must demand more from our trading partners and yield more market access for US businesses, farmers, and ranchers," Greer said in a statement.

The renewal of the trade pacts marks a milestone in a geoeconomic landscape where tariffs have been used as a bargaining chip and “a carrot and a stick” to shape international relations.

Under the AGOA trade pact, the US can import billions of dollars of duty-free cars, clothes and other significant items from African nations annually.

The expiration of the deal on September 30, 2025 affected not only the countries but also disrupted thousands of jobs.

In 2024, the US imported $8.23 billion of goods including cars, metals, and farm produce, energy and oil products from African countries, such as Nigeria and South Africa, as reported by the United States International Trade Commission (USITC).

Called by Trump as a place “nobody has ever heard of", Lesotho exported $150 million of goods in 2024.

Greer vowed to “work with Congress over the next year to modernise the program to align with current US policy.”