The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been recognised as the cornerstone of America’s engagement with Sub-Saharan Africa for the past 14 years. It is therefore central to an understanding of the South Africa-US trade relationship. The recent extension of AGOA by a further 10 years presents many opportunities for improving that trade relationship and expanding economic ties. There are, however, areas for caution, as was seen in the debates around the extension of AGOA and the terms of the inclusion of South Africa as a beneficiary of AGOA.
This policy brief considers the three main options available to South Africa in a post-AGOA trade and investment relationship with the United States: to stay in AGOA, negotiate a Free Trade Agreement, or fall back on Most Favoured Nation terms and the Generalized System of Preferences.