South African exporters have short-term certainty on duty-free access to the US market after a presidential proclamation embedded the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) extension into operational customs processes.
US President Donald Trump formally extended the programme until December 31, after the preferential trade agreement expired on September 30, 2025.
The proclamation, issued on May 19, follows the earlier enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, which was signed into law on February 3, 2026, after congressional passage earlier in the year.
South Africa remains an AGOA-eligible country for duty-free access on hundreds of tariff lines under the short-term extension, which runs retroactively from October 1, 2025.
The proclamation provides administrative implementation detail for trade-related provisions in the law, particularly amendments to long-standing preference schemes including AGOA and the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA).
These changes temporarily extend and adjust duty-free treatment for eligible sub-Saharan African countries under AGOA, as well as extensions to key supporting mechanisms such as the regional apparel programme and the third-country fabric provision.
These elements are central to maintaining US import preferences for African apparel exporters and integrated supply chains.
Gabon has also been reinstated as a beneficiary of AGOA after making sufficient progress on governance and eligibility, reversing its 2023 removal.
The CBERA-related provisions similarly extend preferential access for Haitian apparel exports, including revised percentage caps on eligible imports and continued duty-free treatment for qualifying goods through the end of 2026.
Although the appropriations act established the underlying legal changes earlier in the year, the proclamation provides the executive implementation mechanism required for customs authorities and trade agencies to apply the revised tariff treatment and eligibility criteria in practice.
