United States ‘gift’ to South Africa comes with another deadline

• The United States Senate's approval of extending the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to 2028 does not guarantee that South Africa will continue to benefit, as changes can be made to the list of participating countries before January 2027.
• The extension of AGOA was approved by the US Senate as part of a wider funding bill, but it is not yet final, requiring at least two more steps before it becomes law, including concurrence from the US House of Representatives and signature by US President Donald Trump.
• If South Africa's AGOA status is revoked, local exports to the US could face an additional tariff of around 3% on top of the new tariffs, putting them at a disadvantage against competitors in the American market, such as Chile and Peru.