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By Merit Ibe
With the reauthorisation of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on February 3, 2026, which expired September 2025, experts argue that the short extension should be viewed as a wake-up call to reduce reliance on the initiative and strengthen intra-African trade like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The renewal which was short-term only (one year), is not a longer multi-year extension that some African leaders had hoped for.
The renewal is also generating widespread concern that the one-year window is too short, and exporters feel they need better support, strategy and long-term clarity to make the most of AGOA benefits.
The AGOA is a U.S. trade programme, first enacted in 2000, that allows eligible sub-Saharan African countries to export thousands of products to the U.S. duty-free.
It has been a major driver of African exports, especially in textiles, agriculture, vehicles and other manufactured goods.
AGOA expired on September 30, 2025 after more than 25 years in force. This expiry suddenly removed duty-free access for dozens of African countries and created immediate uncertainty for exporters and jobs across the continent.
On 3 February 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump signed legislation that authorized AGOA retroactively from its expiry date to 31 December 2026, giving African exporters temporary duty-free access again.
In the short term, the reauthorization until December 2026 gives African exporters time to operate without tariffs for now.
Many African governments and trade officials welcomed the temporary extension, saying it was better than losing duty-free access entirely, a blow that could have forced costs up, reduced exports and put jobs at risk.
Exporters and analysts also note that being competitive in terms of quality, compliance and pricing is crucial, especially since AGOA now includes stricter eligibility requirements like progress on economic governance and human rights standards. Being ready to meet these expectations can help Nigerian goods stay attractive in the U.S. market.
Some African leaders are pushing for diversification (other markets, regional trade links) to reduce dependence on a programme that can expire when U.S. policy changes.
Some countries expressed relief about the extension but also cautioned that African economies still face volatility and that AGOA can’t be taken for granted if terms change.
Many African business groups, exporters, and policymakers had lobbied for a longer renewal (e.g., three years or more), as the one-year extension is seen as insufficient for planning and investment decisions.
Daniel Dickson-Okezie, a member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) argued that the extension is a mixed blessing, offering short-term certainty but continuing uncertainty for markets, jobs and factories that depend on stable access to the U.S. market.
The SMEs expert said the one-year extension, restores duty-free access to the U.S. market for thousands of products, which reduces costs and protects export contracts that were at risk after AGOA expired.
“The renewal gives exporters more time to plan and sell to the U.S. market without tariffs, even if it’s shorter than hoped. So it’s a chance to strengthen non-oil exports (like agricultural produce, leather, and processed goods), which the government has been trying to grow for years, as stable access could help diversify exports away from crude oil.”
However, there’s frustration among few Nigerian exporters and business leaders that the extension is only for one year instead of a multi-year deal, something that would give more certainty for long-term planning, investment and marketing.
Dickson-Okezie noted that short windows make it harder for small and medium enterprises to build reliable export chains.
“More training and support for exporters is needed so they can use AGOA more effectively before the next renewal and past results showed Nigeria didn’t fully capitalise on AGOA’s potential.”
He opined that investment decisions (factories, jobs, trade deals) may stay on hold until a longer deal is negotiated, since business plan on a long term.
For David Etim, Africa doesn’t need to rely on AGOA if it builds its own systems of excellence, production capacity, and internal market.
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He emphasized that strategic investment in education, infrastructure, and production can create a self-sufficient, high-growth continent.
“We’ve got to build a system in Africa that throws up excellence. Once we do that, we don’t need AGOA. Africa is enough for Africa.
“Africa has 1.3 billion people, a growing, young population.
“Through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), Africa can focus on building internal markets and self-sufficiency.
“Producing goods that African consumers can afford creates sustainable demand.”
On some of the challenges bedevilling Africa, Etim said electricity generation is a major bottleneck; Nigeria distributes only 5,000 MW for 240 million people, compared to Brazil’s 200,000 MW.
Policy, investment security, and energy reform are key to unlocking Africa’s potential.
He however viewed that countries like South Africa and some smaller nations leveraged AGOA effectively, improving industry, production quality, and earning foreign reserves, lamenting that lNigeria largely missed the opportunity due to poor preparation.
“Trump prefers bilateral agreements, not multilateral ones like AGOA.
When AGOA expired in 2025, the U.S. only renewed it for a short one-year period, leaving African producers uncertain.
“Producers relying on AGOA for long-term investment were disrupted and had to look for new markets quickly.
Competing with India, China, and Europe is hard due to high production costs, lack of electricity at scale, and limited skilled manpower.
Machinery often comes from India/China, raising costs further.
Now, for a business that is running, you need to have at least five years line of sight. Now, AGOA has helped a lot of countries.
“People had taken long-term positions on AGOA and made investments. There was first 15 years, then another 10 years, to revert to one year now, is actually short for businesses to adjust.”
Unfortunately, Nigeria did not prepare itself properly and could not access AGOA significantly. But countries in South Africa, and some other small countries, I think, did a lot.
“AGOA changed the economy, especially Southern African countries, and maybe North African countries. AGOA did a lot for them, because they positioned for it.
They drove their industries, they improved their quality of production and efficiencies of production, all the factors of production, they improved it, and they were able to sell it to the US. And that gave them FX, foreign reserves, boosted their foreign reserves, factories sprung up. Same thing that America did in the early, mid-70s with China.
From all we have seen, Donald Trump is not a multilaterally disposed person. Trump likes his matter, me and you, not me and us. He likes me and you business.
Trump is a bilaterally disposed president. Trump wants to control his trade on an individual basis.
“So, he signs bilateral agreements with China, India, Nigeria, South Africa, on one-on-one basis. That’s his own way. He’s not, how do you do it, whether it’s right or wrong.
So, based on that, when AGOA expired in 2025, Donald Trump was not disposed to AGOA, because AGOA is a multilateral trade agreement.
“He prefers the one-on-one thing. So, he wasn’t disposed to AGOA. Now, a lot of factories over the last 25 years, a lot of factories had been built on AGOA.”
