Making AGOA Work for Africa

The policy brief assesses the underperformance of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), noting that US imports from Africa remain dominated by energy commodities. It proposes a four-pillar strategy for the 2015 renewal: a clean, long-term extension of at least 10 years; the reduction of non-tariff barriers through expanded US Trade Hubs and relaxed rules of origin for least-developed countries; structural reforms including the Power Africa initiative and the development of African capital markets; and alignment with global trade frameworks like the TPP and TTIP to ensure African competitiveness.

• AGOA has underperformed its potential, with US imports from Africa still heavily reliant on energy commodities, which constitute 88% of exports to the US from AGOA countries, excluding South Africa.
• The author recommends a clean renewal of AGOA for at least 10 years to provide investors with the certainty needed to recoup start-up costs in African markets, while advising against adding supplementary appropriations to the core bill to ensure its passage through the US Congress.
• Non-tariff barriers, specifically complex bureaucracy and restrictive rules of origin, hinder trade. The document suggests expanding the US Trade Hubs programme and creating special exceptions for rules of origin for least-developed African countries.
• To improve structural competitiveness, the US should support the Power Africa initiative to address the energy deficit and implement tax breaks for US companies repatriating non-commodity profits from AGOA countries to encourage early-phase investment.
• The US should support the development of African capital markets to increase access to finance, citing successful bond issues in Kenya and Rwanda as evidence of the 'Africa Rising' optimism.
• To maintain relevance against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the US should allow 'cumulation' from AGOA states in the TPP and work toward a common regulatory system with the EU.

APA

Wood, C. (2015). Making AGOA Work for Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Policy-Briefing-127.pdf

Chicago

Wood, Christopher. Making AGOA Work for Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2015. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Policy-Briefing-127.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wood |first1=Christopher |title=Making AGOA Work for Africa |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=February 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Policy-Briefing-127.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wood2015making, author = {Wood, Christopher}, title = {{Making AGOA Work for Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Policy-Briefing-127.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }