The United States House of Representatives has approved a one-year renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), scaling back earlier plans for a longer extension after opposition from the White House and conservative Republican lawmakers.
According to a memorandum issued by the African Coalition for Trade (ACT), the House had initially passed legislation on January 12 authorising a three-year renewal of AGOA, retroactive to its expiry on September 30, 2025. That proposal was intended to provide greater certainty for African exporters and investors who rely on duty-free access to the US market.
However, negotiations to include the three-year renewal in a must-pass funding bill broke down this week after the White House and a small group of far-right Republican members objected to a longer extension. Faced with the risk of delaying a critical appropriations bill and triggering a government shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson moved to reduce the AGOA renewal period from three years to just one.
The revised provision, included in the so-called “minibus” spending package H.R. 7148, reauthorises AGOA only through December 31, 2026, with retroactive effect to September 30, 2025. The spending package passed the House by a wide margin and is expected to be taken up by the US Senate next week.
ACT has indicated that it is highly unlikely the Senate will attempt to reinstate the three-year renewal, as lawmakers face tight deadlines to pass the funding bill before Congress adjourns and to avoid another shutdown. As a result, the Senate is expected to pass the House version without changes.
While the one-year renewal prevents AGOA from lapsing entirely, ACT described the outcome as disappointing, noting that a short extension offers limited commercial certainty for businesses making long-term investment and sourcing decisions. The organisation said it would immediately resume lobbying efforts in support of a longer-term AGOA renewal and would seek to address concerns raised by the White House that have so far blocked endorsement of a multi-year extension.
AGOA provides qualifying African countries with duty-free access to the US market for thousands of products and is a key pillar of trade for sectors such as textiles, apparel, and manufacturing across the continent. The uncertainty surrounding its future has raised concerns among exporters and governments that depend on the programme for jobs, investment, and foreign exchange earnings.
