South Africa: What Now? - Experts Weigh in After Trump Boots South Africa From AGOA

What the report says

South Africa is set to lose its duty-free access to the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) from next year, according to a report carried by Daily Maverick and distributed by AllAfrica. The announcement comes after the US government said South Africa had already “constructively responded” to Washington’s concerns, but that President Donald Trump decided to remove the country from the programme anyway.

The move has raised alarm among business and labour groups that depend on Agoa-linked trade. Citrus farmers described the decision as a major setback for the citrus sector, while Cosatu said it was worried about the effect on agricultural and manufacturing employment. The union said factories and companies in places including Cape Town, Atlantis, Malmesbury and Tulbagh had already seen job losses, and that more workers and farming communities could be affected.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the administration was concerned about barriers to US trade and investment, corruption, and risks to US national security and foreign policy interests. South African Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau was cited as saying last week that the government was considering the consequences if the country were removed from Agoa. The decision matters because Agoa has been an important channel for export access to the US market for eligible African countries.