Lunes 15 de septiembre del 2025

The U.S. Chamber this week urged Congress to reauthorize the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) ahead of its September 30 expiration. The September 11 letter was sent to the Senate Finance and House Ways & Means Committees as well as U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Cornerstone of Trade Ties: The letter notes the decades-long impact the program has had on the broader bilateral relationship as well as the program’s geopolitical importance:

“Swift reauthorization of AGOA will strengthen mutually beneficial U.S.-Africa trade ties and avoid the harm to U.S. geopolitical relationships that the program’s termination would entail. For a quarter century, AGOA has been the cornerstone of U.S.-Africa commerce and an effective tool for promoting market-based economic growth.”

The letter also notes the further uncertainty businesses will experience if the program lapses as other trade programs as the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) did:

“The threat of AGOA’s imminent expiry creates uncertainty for U.S. companies and raises questions across Africa about the reliability of American businesses as partners. Securing AGOA’s renewal will help assuage those concerns and incentivize investment decisions to deconcentrate and diversify supply chains away from China.”

Haiti, Too: The letter also implores Congress to reauthorize the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act and the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act, which are set to expire on the same date as AGOA.