Biden endorses AGOA extension, as African countries sought to boost benefits at Johannesburg summit

The US President Joe Biden endorsed the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) upon its expiry in September 2025.

“I strongly support re-authorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act — a landmark, bipartisan law that has formed a bedrock for US trade with sub-Saharan Africa for more than two decades,” said US President Joe Biden in a statement.

The decision was made ahead of the AGOA summit held in Johannesburg.

As African members have been seeking to maximize their benefits from the United States government program, African trade ministers attending the summit in Johannesburg pushed for the annual eligibility reviews of the AGOA to be conducted every three years instead of annually to allow for predictability and certainty for investors. At the three-day summit (Oct.2-4), African governments and private companies engaged counterparts from the United States about ways to improve the AGOA program.

The AGOA summit took place after four beneficiary countries, Uganda, Niger, the Central African Republic and Gabon, were kicked out of the trade program partially because of human rights and governance issues.

The AGOA program was established by US Congress in 2000 and most recently reauthorized in 2015, providing tariff-free access to the US market for exports of goods from 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Some US senators had called on the Senate to prioritize extension of the legislation to expand economic opportunities with Africa.

In 2021, US goods two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa totaled $44.9 billion, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.