US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said he would be happy to consider cutting South Africa out of Agoa ‘because I think they are a unique problem’. The US Congress is moving to revive the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which expired on 30 September this year – but it is uncertain whether South Africa will be included. On Wednesday the powerful House Ways and Means Committee passed the Agoa Extension Act, a bill introduced by its chairperson, Jason Smith, to extend Agoa for three years, until 31 December 2028.
The committee voted 37-3 for the bill, showing strong bipartisan support. It would reinstate Agoa retroactively to 30 September, also reimbursing importers for duties they have paid in the interval. But on Tuesday the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer raised doubts about South Africa’s continued participation in Agoa, which gives duty-free access to the US market for eligible African countries, without requiring any reciprocal US access to their markets.
It has been working since 2020, and has substantially benefited key South African industries such as auto, fruit and wine producers. Greer told the US Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce that he would be happy to consider cutting South Africa out of Agoa if Congress wanted that. “But if you extend Agoa by a year without reforming it, that’s going to benefit South Africa, right?” asked Republican Senator John Kennedy.
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But Kennedy persisted, asking Greer: “Don’t you think we should separate South Africa from Agoa?” adding: “They’re our enemy right now. They’re buddies with our enemies.” “I’m happy to consider that,” Greer replied. “If you think we should give South Africa different treatment, I’m open to that because I think they are a unique problem.” He said South Africa had imposed “a lot of barriers, not just tariffs but non-tariff barriers” on the US.
“We’ve made clear to South Africa that if they want to have a better tariff situation with us, they need to take care of these tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Because they’re a big economy. They have an industrial base. They have an agricultural base.
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