The United States announced that South Africa and Rwanda will lose duty‑free access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, bringing the total number of excluded African countries to 19.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative said the suspensions will become effective on 1 January 2027 after the required notification to Congress.

Washington cited trade barriers, governance shortcomings and national‑security concerns as the basis for the removals.

The current list of ineligible countries includes South Africa, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Burundi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Gabon, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Seychelles, Ethiopia, Somalia, Niger, South Sudan and Mali.

AGOA, launched in 2000, provides eligible sub‑Saharan African nations duty‑free entry for thousands of products into the US market, with eligibility tied to market‑economy reforms, rule of law and removal of trade barriers.

South Africa, historically the programme’s biggest beneficiary, saw its share of US exports fall from about 28 % in 2024 to roughly 10 % in 2025, with AGOA‑linked export value dropping to around KSh 219.9 billion (US $1.7 billion).

Rwanda’s trade with the United States is smaller; total bilateral trade fell 8.1 % to KSh 43.1 billion (US $333.4 million) in 2025, and the country has been under a partial AGOA suspension since 2018 that already blocked apparel exports.

USTR Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the review found both governments were engaging in practices inconsistent with AGOA’s eligibility criteria.

The decision follows earlier removals of Gabon, Niger, the Central African Republic and Uganda in January 2024, reflecting a broader US strategy of using AGOA eligibility to advance foreign‑policy objectives.