United States President Donald Trump has signed into law a short-term extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), preserving duty-free access to the U.S. market for Nigeria and other eligible African countries until December 31, 2026.
The reauthorization, confirmed in a statement by U.S. Ambassador Jamieson Greer on February 3, 2026, takes retroactive effect from September 30, 2025, following months of uncertainty over the future of the long-running trade preference programme.
AGOA, first enacted in 2000 under former President Bill Clinton, allows eligible sub-Saharan African countries to export more than 1,800 products to the United States duty-free. These include crude oil, automobiles and auto parts, textiles, apparel, and a wide range of agricultural products.
AGOA Extension
According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the extension offers only temporary relief. While the U.S. House of Representatives had passed legislation last month to renew AGOA for three years, the Senate later amended the bill to a one-year extension, according to Reuters.
“AGOA for the 21st century must demand more from our trading partners and yield more market access for U.S. businesses, farmers, and ranchers, building on the benefits it has historically provided to Africa and the United States,” the trade office said.
Trade between the United States and Africa was valued at over $100 billion in 2024, with AGOA accounting for a significant share of exports from the continent. At the time the programme lapsed in September 2025, 34 African countries were participating. As of 2025, 32 countries remain eligible.
About AGOA
AGOA was designed to strengthen U.S.–Africa trade relations while promoting economic growth, political reform, and sustainable development across sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to AGOA benefits, eligible countries can also access more than 5,000 products under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences.
To qualify, countries must demonstrate commitment to the rule of law, human rights protection, poverty reduction, and the removal of barriers to trade and investment.
Originally scheduled to expire in 2015, AGOA was modernized and extended in that year through 2025, before the latest renewal to the end of 2026.
Eligible African countries under the current AGOA framework include Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Angola, Senegal, Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, Mauritius, and several others across West, East, Central, and Southern Africa.
Beyond market access, the programme continues to serve as a policy tool encouraging institutional development and economic reforms, aligning trade incentives with broader governance and development objectives across the continent.
