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1h ago

White House Backs One-Year AGOA Extension as Expiration Nears

Prospects rest on Congress attaching a short renewal to a government funding measure.

Kenyan workers prepare clothes for export at the New Wide Garment Export Processing Zone (EPZ) factory operating under the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), in Kitengela, Kajiado County, Kenya on September 19, 2025.
FILE - A factory worker arranges garments at United Aryan EPZ Limited in Ruaraka on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku, File)
FILE - Factory workers operate machines to make garments at United Aryan EPZ Limited in Ruaraka on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku, File)
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Overview

  • The African Growth and Opportunity Act is set to lapse on September 30, with a White House official saying the administration supports a one-year extension that must move through Congress, most plausibly via a continuing resolution.
  • If the law lapses, lawmakers could reinstate it later, though businesses warn that planning disruptions would mount in the interim.
  • Trump’s 2025 tariff actions have already eroded AGOA’s advantages by exposing previously duty-free exports to U.S. import taxes of roughly 10% to 30%.
  • Labor and industry groups cite exposure of about 300,000 direct and 1 million indirect jobs, especially in textiles, horticulture, and auto-related exports in countries such as Lesotho, Kenya, South Africa, and Madagascar.
  • African governments and firms are lobbying for at least a short extension while pursuing hedges such as bilateral deals, targeted U.S. exemptions, and deeper use of the AfCFTA and partnerships with China and the EU.