Cape Town – United States legislators are increasingly questioning South Africa’s continued inclusion in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
During a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Republican Senator John Kennedy challenged US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer on why South Africa should remain in AGOA, calling the country “not America’s friend”.
“What do you wanna do about South Africa as part of AGOA, given that South Africa is not America’s friend?,” he asked.
Greer acknowledged long-standing trade disputes, including tariff and non-tariff barriers, and noted that South Africa has already been hit with a 30% reciprocal tariff—much higher than the 10% applied to most sub-Saharan African countries.
“That’s correct. We have had some conversations with South Africans when it comes to trade, and there are a lot of kind of foreign policy issues that I do not get into with South Africa. But when it comes to trade, they have a lot of barriers …,” said Geer.
“We have made it clear to the South Africans that if they want to have a better tariff situation with us they need to take care of these tariff and non-tariff barriers.
United States Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer questioned by Sen. John Kennedy at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on South Africa’s inclusion in a potential extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). pic.twitter.com/30R0CjNY3o
— Ofentse Donald Davhie (@DonaldDavhie) December 10, 2025
“They are a real economy, they are a big economy, right. They have an industrial base, they have an agricultural base; they should be buying things from the United States.”
Kennedy pressed further, suggesting that South Africa should be removed from AGOA. Greer agreed and said he was open to exploring that idea.
“Congress has come to me and said we want AGOA. And if we are going to give away, we need to figure out how to improve it. If you think that we should give South Africa a different treatment, I am open to that, because I think they are a unique problem,” said Geer.
Kennedy argued that South Africa is aligned with “America’s enemies” and should be separated from AGOA if the programme is renewed without reforms.
“Well, they are a unique problem for America. I mean, they are our enemy right now. They are buddies with all of our enemies. And they have been very critical of the United States.”
“That is exactly right. And that is why they are actually treated in a much different way. Most of the African continent, sub-Saharan Africa, has just a 10 percent, and South Africa has a 30 percent.”
South Africa, meanwhile, disputes the US justification for the 30% tariff.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said the tariff is based on an inaccurate interpretation of trade data, noting that over half of US goods enter South Africa duty-free.
Pretoria maintains it is working to strengthen trade relations with Washington despite the tensions.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, X and Instagram
Picture: designed by Anda Tolibadi/African Insider
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
