TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Jul26/02)
2 July 2026
Third World Network

Trade: SACU leaders call for extending AGOA for 15 years
Published in SUNS #10473 dated 1 July 2026

Geneva, 30 Jun (D. Ravi Kanth) -- The leaders of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) - comprising Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa - have called on the Trump administration to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for a period of 15 years beyond December 2026, to ensure the "continuity of trade, market access, preservation of the industrial base and job security".

During their ninth summit that concluded in Cape Town, South Africa, on 26 June, the five countries underscored "the need for sustained and close cooperation among SACU Member States in responding to the economic challenges posed by current global developments, including through economic diversification and development of regional value chains."

AGOA, which is based on the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), was conceived by the Clinton administration in the 1990s and over the years has seemingly been used as "a carrot" to extract concessions from the five African countries, particularly on critical minerals and other items.

At the 14th ministerial conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organization in Yaounde, Cameroon, in March this year, the US apparently made demands for a permanent moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions in return for a longer period of AGOA benefits, said people familiar with the development.

However, the US was forced to scale down its demand on the moratorium to a period of four years, which Brazil was not prepared to accept beyond the normal practice of a two-year extension.

Against this backdrop, it remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will sympathetically consider the demand for a 15-year extension of the AGOA at a time when these five countries are facing severe headwinds in global trade, "including the rise in protectionism and unilateralism, as well as ongoing conflicts."

The five SACU leaders noted that the "economic ramifications of these developments include disruptions in supply chains, elevated energy and food prices, and a subdued global growth outlook."

Amidst growing "South-South cooperation which mitigates against the negative spillover effects of the current developments," the five countries "underscored the need for sustained and close cooperation among SACU Member States in responding to the economic challenges posed by current global developments, including through economic diversification and development of regional value chains."

More importantly, the leaders "approved the establishment of a SACU Regional Innovative Funding Mechanism/ Fund of Funds with an initial capitalisation of Rand 5 billion spread over the 2027/28 and 2028/29 Financial Years."

They have decided that "the funding will come from the Common Revenue Pool and will be available to support development projects across all SACU Member States."

The leaders directed that "further technical work should be undertaken to establish the Fund's governance and management arrangements, re-capitalisation, access criteria, project pipeline or profiling, establishment of network of DFIs and private sector, legal requirements, hosting arrangements and opportunities to mobilise additional sources of funding."

SACU STRATEGIC PLAN

During the SACU summit that concluded on 26 June, the leaders noted "the significant progress made in implementing the SACU Strategic Plan (2022-2027), anchored on six key pillars."

The six pillars include "Industrialisation, Export and Investment Promotion; Trade Facilitation and Logistics; Implementation and Leveraging of the AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Agreement); Unified Engagement with Third Parties; Finance and Resource Mobilisation; and Effectiveness of SACU Institutions."

The Summit "commended the Council for the Mid-Term Review of the Strategic Plan and approved its extension to the 2028/29 Financial Year."

Reaffirming "the importance of SACU's Industrialization, Export and Investment Promotion work programme as a key driver of SACU's long-term relevance, inclusive growth and sustainable development," the five countries reviewed "progress in regional value chains, export potential mapping, investment facilitation and cross-border industrial cooperation."

The five leaders "highlighted progress in the automotive sector, including work on a Smart Specialization Strategy for Automotive and Complementary Green Mineral Beneficiation, collaboration on the battery value chain, and possible component manufacturing under the SADC Hub and Spoke model."

They urged "the Council of Ministers to speed up implementation of identified cross-border value chains to advance a shared industrial development agenda across SACU."

The leaders noted the "successful implementation of regional Joint Enforcement Operations targeting illicit trade which has resulted in total seizures and detentions valued at approximately R479 million, covering tobacco products," while committing to "enhance cooperation in view of the impact of illicit trade in the regional economy."

The leaders reviewed the commencement of regional initiatives "on the approach to be adopted by SACU for identifying and packaging hard and soft infrastructure development projects; the development of the regional framework for trade digitalisation and digital transformation; and the streamlining of the administration of Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS), Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), and Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) measures."

They mentioned the "ongoing work to explore a Concept on Future Seamless Non-Stop Border Trade Environments within the Common Customs Area."

Reviewing "the implementation and leveraging of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)," the leaders "welcomed the progress made on the implementation of the tariff liberalisation commitments and the work underway to finalise outstanding negotiations based on agreed tariff elimination Modalities."

According to the communique, "the Summit emphasised the need for the region to fully leverage the AfCFTA, to build resilience and protect Member States from global supply chain disruptions." +