Trump Signs One-Year AGOA Extension

United States President Donald Trump signed legislation on Tuesday extending the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a key trade agreement providing duty-free access to the U.S. market for eligible sub-Saharan African countries. The one-year renewal, effective retroactively from September 30, 2025, through December 31, 2026, offers temporary stability to exporters in about 32 nations after the program's expiration last fall amid broader tariff policies.

AGOA, enacted in 2000, allows roughly 1,800 products, including crude oil, automobiles and parts, clothing, textiles, and agricultural goods, to enter the U.S. without tariffs. The agreement has underpinned much of the trade between the U.S. and Africa, which exceeded $100 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. When the program lapsed in September 2025, businesses across the continent warned of widespread job losses, with estimates suggesting tens of thousands of positions at risk in export-dependent sectors.

The extension emerged from congressional negotiations that initially proposed a three-year renewal in the House of Representatives before the Senate shortened it to one year. U.S. Trade...