The United States House of Representatives has decisively voted to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) for an additional three years. This renewal takes place amidst escalating geopolitical competition with China, which currently stands as Africa’s largest trading partner. Despite the program's extension, the eligibility of South Africa, a nation that has previously experienced policy clashes with President Donald Trump’s administration, remains uncertain.

Agoa, initially enacted in 2000, was designed to grant duty-free access to the U.S. market for eligible sub-Saharan African countries. Although the program had lapsed on September 30 of the previous year and was widely anticipated to conclude as part of broader U.S. funding reductions, the renewal bill successfully passed the House with a vote of 340 to 54 and will now proceed to the Senate for further consideration.

The extension of Agoa is fundamentally driven by a strategic imperative to "protect and strengthen America’s strategic, economic, and national security interests," including ensuring access to critical minerals located outside the United States, as articulated by a U.S. House of Representatives committee. The committee further emphasized that Agoa forms a crucial component of Washington’s comprehensive strategy to counteract Chinese and Russian economic influence and coercion across the African continent. This initiative aims to support reliable trading partners and limit the advancement of interests by nations seeking to exploit resources and spread harmful influence globally.

Tensions between Washington and Pretoria have been evident, with the U.S. imposing a 30% tariff on South African exports last year. Furthermore, President Trump boycotted the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg, and South Africa faces the potential risk of exclusion from the upcoming US-hosted G20 summit this year. The House of Representatives underscored that Agoa’s framework requires beneficiary nations not to undermine U.S. national security or foreign policy interests, placing South Africa’s status in a precarious position.

The Agoa extension was passed in conjunction with the Hope/Help Bill, an initiative designed to foster stability in the Western Hemisphere through economic opportunities for Haiti, a nation prone to humanitarian crises and located less than 700 miles from the United States. Jason Smith, the chairperson of the House committee, highlighted the bipartisan support for both Agoa and Hope/Help for Haiti, affirming their historical role in serving America’s economic and national security interests. He stressed the importance of these programs in countering threats to America's strategic and economic security posed by China and Russia in Africa, and by turmoil within Haiti, particularly regarding the security of national supply chains and access to vital critical minerals.

The House explicitly warned that any lapse in Agoa would create a void that "malign actors like China and Russia will seek to fill," noting China's substantial investment of $8 to $10 billion in Africa to potentially monopolize essential supply chains. The Trump administration's focus on stability in Africa was also cited, evidenced by efforts to secure peace between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the announcement of a strategic partnership agreement with the DRC aimed at developing critical minerals.