US House of Representatives Votes in Favor of AGOA Extension for Three Years
On 12 January 2026, the US House of Representatives debated and voted on HR6500, a bill to extend the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The House voted overwhelmingly in favor of the extension with 340 yeas and 54 nays, showing bipartisan support.
When President Trump initiated his seemingly crazy tariff policy, some observers believe that the AGOA is basically dead and buried. Later, Trump hinted that he might be open to reauthorize AGOA, but only for one year. The business community lobbied for visibility and certainty to allow investment decisions and even requested an extension for a 10-year period. Finally, the US Congress appears to be going for a 3-year extension until the end of 2028. This will coincide with the new presidential election, and the policy may change again depending who gets to sit in the Oval Office.
The next step for the Bill will be the Senate, before the Presidential approval to give it the force of law. Right from its inception in 2000, the AGOA received bipartisan and bicameral support, and this time round, the reauthorization of #AGOA is also expected to go through.
During the debate, representatives from both the Republican and Democratic parties underscored the vital role of AGOA to preserve the economic interests of the US in Africa, especially in light of heightened activities by China and Russia as they are squeezed out of other regions. The House also believes it is imperative for the USA to plug loopholes that could allow China to use African countries to re-export their wares, without undergoing substantive local value addition (#LVA), into the USA.
The Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the matter, whereby various stakeholders had a chance to present their perspective on AGOA. During the proceedings, #CriticalMinerals were identified as a new aspect that could become important in the US-Africa ties.
An exceptional case presented itself to the lawmakers with respect to #Mauritius, which is hailed as a model of economic success thanks in part to AGOA. Since Mauritius is projected to become a high-income economy in the foreseeable future, it might thus become ineligible for #AGOA. But it would not be right to ‘punish countries’ who are performing well, and talks are underway to see how the US and Mauritius can continue to work together to strengthen their commercial ties and graduate from AGOA to a bilateral trade deal.
It is to be recalled that Mauritius has been selected to host the US-Africa Business Summit in June 2026. Some quarters suggest that it would be perhaps fitting to hold an AGOA Sub-Forum during the US-Africa Business Summit in Mauritius to disseminate changes to the new AGOA. The last time the USTR held the AGOA Forum was in South Africa in 2023. In 2024, the AGOA Forum took place in Washington, DC, but the one in 2025, which was supposed to be held in DR Congo, did not materialize.
South Africa has one of the most advanced industrial capacities in all of Africa and has been exporting vehicles to the USA under AGOA. Unfortunately, due to a deterioration of ties, the case of South Africa is special, and it remains uncertain if South Africa will still enjoy AGOA privileges.