The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a US trade preference program that gives eligible sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the US market for over 1,800 products in addition to 5,000 products already eligible to duty-free access.
Enacted in 2000, AGOA is administered by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and is designed to expand trade and investment between the United States and African countries. The program is currently authorized through December 31, 2026, after being reauthorized in February with retroactive effect from September 30, 2025.
Which Countries Are Eligible
AGOA eligibility is granted to countries rather than individual companies. The US government reviews the status of beneficiary countries annually and can maintain, suspend or withdraw eligibility depending on whether countries meet the requirements set by US law.
The current USTR list contains 32 eligible countries: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Chad, Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Eswatini, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.
Rwanda remains on the list, although its AGOA apparel benefits have been suspended since July 2018.
What Are the Requirements
To qualify for AGOA benefits, a country must establish or make continual progress toward establishing a market-based economy, the rule of law, political pluralism and the right to due process.
Countries must also work to remove barriers to US trade and investment, pursue policies aimed at reducing poverty, combat corruption and protect internationally recognized human and worker rights. US law also allows eligibility to be affected by actions that undermine US national security or foreign policy interests or involve gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.
The annual review is conducted by the AGOA Implementation Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee. The process can take into account information submitted by governments, businesses, civil society organizations and other stakeholders.
How the Program Works
Eligibility does not mean that every product exported from a beneficiary country automatically receives duty-free treatment. Individual products must meet AGOA's rules, including applicable requirements concerning their origin and tariff classification.
The program therefore operates at two levels: a country must qualify for AGOA benefits, while exporters must meet the requirements applicable to the products they ship to the US market.
For African exporters, AGOA provides preferential access to one of the world's largest consumer markets. For the United States, the program forms part of its broader trade and economic engagement with sub-Saharan Africa.
