AGOA renewal should hold South Africa accountable

Free traders scored a victory in Congress this week when the House Ways and Means Committee passed the AGOA Extension Act. The legislation, sponsored by Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), would extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to December 31^st, 2028.

Passed in 2000, AGOA created a US trade preference program to provide duty-free access to the US market for select African countries. Renewed for ten years in 2015, AGOA expired on September 30^th of this year. While extending AGOA is important for free trade, Congress should also include provisions that would compel South Africa to abandon its internal corruption and reckless foreign policy agenda.

As noted in CEI’s Agenda for the 119^th Congress, free trade helps to lower the cost of housing, cars, food, clothing, and other essential goods. It is also a critical tool in advancing US foreign policy interests. Moreover, “trade, not aid” has proved to be a vital human development tool, lifting millions in Africa out of poverty without the significant downside risks associated with traditional aid programs.

AGOA is a crucial program that benefits America by increasing trade between the US and African nations while helping to promote human rights and democracy abroad. AGOA eligibility includes a country’s trade and investment policy, governance, human rights, and US foreign policy interests. To maintain favorable access to US markets, countries must have fair and decent domestic and foreign policy.

While every African nation that is a member of AGOA benefits greatly from the program, South Africa is the program’s largest beneficiary. In 2024, US AGOA imports totaled $8.0 billion – $3.76 billion (47 percent) came from South Africa. Despite the economic benefit it enjoys from trading with the US under AGOA, South Africa has done much in recent years to jeopardize this relationship.

In addition to rampant corruption and severe human rights abuses, South Africa under the African National Congress and President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeatedly acted against the interests of the United States and its allies by advancing anti-US, pro-Russia, pro-China, and pro-terror policies and narratives. Examples of this include joint military exercises with Russia and China and increasingly cozying up to Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and Qatar.

Legislation introduced earlier this year by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) would help hold South Africa responsible for its corruption, human rights abuses, and alignment with adversarial actors. Sen. Kennedy’s U.S.-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act would remove South Africa from AGOA and require a comprehensive review of the US-South Africa relationship. It would also enable sanctions to be placed on members of the South African government. Another measure from Sen. Kennedy, the AGOA Extension and Bilateral Engagement Act, includes the South Africa-related provisions in the aforementioned bill, but also extends AGOA for two years and tightens eligibility criteria across the board.

Nick Stewart, Managing Director of Advocacy at Foundation Defending Democracy Action, writes:

South Africa’s diplomatic trajectory is increasingly at odds with U.S. interests. When a partner uses its system to shield corruption, enable terror financing, or wage lawfare against U.S. allies, soft engagement no longer suffices. [Kennedy’s] legislation ensures that Pretoria’s alliances and internal conduct face real consequences, restoring clarity and credibility to U.S. policy.

At a recent Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expressed his support for extending AGOA and told Sen. Kennedy he is “happy to consider” removing South Africa from the program. With the Trump administration signaling support, there should be nothing that stands in the way of Congress from renewing AGOA in the near future and taking the steps necessary to hold Pretoria’s feet to the fire.