The Automotive Business Council has released the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Research Report conducted by the Automotive Industry Export Council (AEIC) and administered from the naamsa Corporate Offices.

AGOA is a non-reciprocal preferential trade programme that the US offers to 49 sub-Saharan African countries. The Act is an extension of the US Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) and subject to annual Congressional re-authorisation. Notably, the newly added “AGOA products” include items such as apparel and footwear, wine, motor vehicles, selected additional automotive components, a variety of agricultural products, chemicals, and steel, amongst others.

AGOA has become a powerful symbol of the commitment the United States and Africa has made to one another’s prosperity. Since its inception in 2001, AGOA has served as the bedrock of trade relations between the US and sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in the support of regional integration and the stimulation of regional value chains through AGOA’s rules permitting cumulation among programme beneficiaries. The continuity of AGOA, via extensions up to 2025, strengthened trade relations and improved the scope of employment creation, industrial growth, and development in Africa, especially in South Africa.

Report by the Automotive Business Council