South Africa's Plan B In Case Donald Trump Kicks It Out Of Agoa

The South African government is considering proposing a new bilateral trade agreement with the US in case the Donald Trump administration ends South Africas membership of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act AGOA, Bloomberg reported on Friday 15 February.

AGOA is a US law that allows duty-free access of qualifying products from 35 sub-Saharan African countries into the US market.

South Africas exports under AGOA accounted for 1.7 of the countrys global exports in 2022, according to a presentation by the Department of Trade and Industry DTIC in Parliament last year.

South Africa-US relations have deteriorated dramatically in the past week following Trumps adverse executive order that cut US aid to the country.

Additionally, four US congressmen wrote to Trump on 11 February asking him to revoke South Africas AGOA membership , accusing it of undermining US interests globally. They cited South Africas legal actions against Israel at the International Court of Justice and its close ties to China.

These factors have raised fears that Trumps administration may remove South Africa from AGOA. Citing people who declined to be named, Bloomberg reported that the government is preparing a team to discuss a bilateral agreement with the US if this happens.

The South African government considers such an accord better than preferential treatment because it would be a negotiated deal, and it would prefer to transition away from AGOA, the publication added.

In December, the outgoing Joe Biden administration extended South Africas AGOA membership by another year. This followed a visit to the US in July 2024 by a DTIC delegation led by Minister Parks Tau.

Meanwhile, AGOA is set to expire in September 2025. Representative John James, the Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Africa, introduced a bill to extend it to 2037. However, disagreements in the US Congress have delayed its passing.