AGOA is probably a gonner, says Steenhuisen

South Africa’s agriculture minister has warned that duty-free access to US markets under AGOA may soon end.South Africa’s agricultural minister John Steenhuisen has advised the country’s agricultural producers to prepare for a future without the benefits of duty-free entry into US markets under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

Steenhuisen said an end to these benefits appears increasingly likely, Freight News reported. AGOA’s preferential terms could be a thing of the past before the end of the year, he said.

This would negatively impact South African exporters such as citrus farmers, who depended on the preferential terms under Agoa.

Technically, South Africa remained a beneficiary of the agreement until September when this piece of US legislation comes up for review.

However, when the 90-day pause on Trump tariffs expires by July, new 30% duties on certain South African exports to the US could come into effect, and the AGOA benefits would most likely no longer be applied.

Steenhuisen said South Africa’s agricultural exports to the US represented about 6% of its international market share, comprising crucial products such as citrus, wine and nuts, exports that would be severely challenged without duty-free access under AGOA.

Harry Scherzer, actuary and CEO of Future Forex, had explained the impact to Bizcommunity, Freight News said.

“If 30% levies came into play for South African exports to the US, a $1 million shipment would face $300 000 in import tariffs, constituting a cost burden that many agricultural and manufacturing operations would not be able to absorb,” Scherzer had stated.