US to Remove South Africa and Rwanda From AGOA Duty-Free Trade Program

The United States will remove South Africa and Rwanda from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), ending their duty-free access to the US market effective January 1, 2027, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Monday. President Donald Trump notified Congress and both governments after an annual eligibility review found that the two countries engage in practices inconsistent with AGOA's criteria. Greer cited barriers to US trade and investment, corruption and threats to US national security and foreign policy interests in South Africa. For Rwanda, he cited trade barriers, rule of law, political pluralism and human rights. South Africa was the program's largest beneficiary, exporting about $1.7 billion in goods to the US under AGOA in 2025. Rwanda was also suspended in 2018. South African Trade Minister Parks Tau said the decision does not define the broader relationship and that Pretoria would keep pursuing trade and investment with the US. The move follows months of tension, including Trump's claims of a genocide against white South Africans, which experts have dismissed and Pretoria calls a falsehood spread by fringe groups, and the end of PEPFAR aid to South Africa.

Newsmax, on the right, leads with the cut itself, calling AGOA a quarter-century-old agreement and describing the removal as punishment for failing to meet certain criteria. Its excerpt says the cut comes at the end of the year, and it centers on the administration's decision rather than on the wider dispute. The New York Times, on the left, uses the word "removes" and describes the decision as the latest measure against South Africa, which the administration has accused of discriminating against white people, so the political backdrop comes first. Both sides report the removal of both countries. Semafor and Al Jazeera add trade figures, Rwanda's history and Tau's response.