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The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a short-term government funding bill that would extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through December 31, 2028, preserving duty-free access to the U.S. market for eligible sub-Saharan African countries for a further two years.
The bill passed 370–48 and is expected to become law once signed by President Donald Trump.
The extension retains AGOA’s existing framework without changes to its eligibility rules or product coverage.
It follows a one-year renewal signed in February 2026, which restored the program retroactively after it expired on September 30, 2025.
AGOA provides preferential, duty-free treatment for qualifying exports from eligible African countries. U.S. Trade Representative data shows that 33 countries and territories currently receive benefits under the program.
In 2025, U.S. goods imports from AGOA-eligible countries totaled $31.2 billion, with $5.2 billion receiving AGOA preferences. South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana were the leading exporters under the arrangement.
The program supports trade across sectors including minerals and metals, agriculture, transport equipment, textiles and apparel, and energy-related products.
For exporters and manufacturers, continued market access can help sustain supply contracts, production planning, and investment decisions linked to U.S. demand.
The two-year extension offers immediate relief to African governments and businesses that had faced uncertainty over the future of U.S.-Africa trade policy.
However, its limited duration falls short of the longer-term renewal sought by several stakeholders, including South Africa, which had advocated for a 15-year extension.
“It does not provide the certainty” needed for long-term investment and planning, said Oge Onubogu, director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
She added that African governments and companies need “certainty, predictability, and clarity” on the United States’ long-term economic approach to Africa.
Extending AGOA through 2028 prevents another near-term disruption to preferential trade, but it also gives Washington and African governments a narrow window to define a more durable framework for investment, export growth, and commercial ties between the United States and Africa.
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