Gregory P. Tosi, a lawyer in Washington, D.C., and former legal advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, believes that the extension granted to the AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act), a U.S. trade law that allows eligible sub-Saharan African countries to export products to the U.S. market duty-free, should not be wasted. While the U.S. Senate has voted to extend the program for three years, the author urges African governments to take the initiative and present a concrete proposal for a permanent trade framework between the United States and Africa, based on reciprocity, critical minerals, and the objectives of the AfCFTA.
By Gregory P. Tosi
The U.S. Congress may have granted an additional two years to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Africa should seize this opportunity to act.
In the early hours of August 8, the U.S. Senate included a three-year extension of AGOA in a temporary funding bill, reviving a text that the House of Representatives had approved in January, before the Trump administration requested changes to the AGOA program. If the House accepts the Senate’s measure, AGOA will remain in effect until December 31, 2028. Otherwise, the AGOA program will expire at the end of this year.
The Senate’s action provides African governments with an opportunity to present a concrete proposal in favor of a permanent trade framework between the United States and Africa to Washington. They should act on this without delay.
AGOA has been the foundation of U.S. trade engagement in sub-Saharan Africa since President Bill Clinton signed it in 2000. The law grants eligible African countries preferential access to the U.S. market to encourage African exports, investment, economic diversification, and reforms.
Since January 2025, President Trump’s consistent message has been “Trade, Not Aid,” and his administration has made it clear that it expects more from AGOA. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told senators in February that AGOA should “demand more from our trading partners and offer more market access to American businesses, farmers, and ranchers.” Greer proposed dedicating 2026 to assessing ways to modify AGOA to support the growth of bilateral trade. However, Washington has made little progress on the AGOA issue in the past six months.
Since the U.S. is not moving forward, Africa should take the initiative. African governments should develop their own proposals and invoke U.S. law to compel the United States to sit down at the negotiating table. The original text of AGOA stated that the United States should seek reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade agreements with sub-Saharan African countries, including the possibility of creating free trade zones. The AGOA Extension and Enhancement Act of 2015 called again for deepening trade and investment ties, including through trade and investment framework agreements, bilateral investment treaties, and free trade agreements.
Reciprocal trade between the United States and Africa is achievable. An African plan could involve maintaining AGOA tariff preferences while the United States and interested African countries negotiate commitments regarding investment, public procurement, customs, services, supply chains, and market access. Such a framework would not have to resemble the traditional bilateral agreements the U.S. has signed with many African countries. An African plan could establish a common continental framework, with different countries or regional groups making additional commitments according to their interests and capacities. African governments could commit to enhancing transparency in public procurement, streamlining customs procedures, making investment rules more predictable, and reducing barriers to certain American goods and services. The U.S. could offer more predictable access to its market for eligible African exports and support investment in mining, processing, manufacturing, logistics, and related infrastructure.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) gives African governments an additional reason to approach Washington collectively. AfCFTA aims to create a single African market for goods and services. A U.S.-Africa framework could reinforce AfCFTA goals of market integration and barrier removal, while discouraging the proliferation of bilateral agreements that would fragment African trade.
For African governments, the window of opportunity to engage in dialogue with Washington is open, but it will not remain open forever. They have no time to waste. African officials should come to Washington with a negotiating position backed by a market of over one billion people, vast reserves of critical minerals, and a mandate enshrined in U.S. law.
Furthermore, African negotiators are likely to find a receptive Trump administration. The Washington Agreements between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda provide a useful example. The economic framework accompanying this December 2025 agreement focuses on investment, mining, infrastructure, energy, logistics, and regional economic integration. The Washington Agreements show that the Trump administration is willing to engage at the highest level and connect security interests with commercial interests. Africa should apply this lesson.
Trade in critical minerals is an excellent starting point for negotiations between the United States and Africa and would give concrete substance to AGOA and its 2015 extension. Africa has deposits of cobalt, copper, and other minerals that American manufacturers and defense industries are increasingly seeking to secure. The U.S. has capital, technology, financing capabilities, and companies capable of contributing to their development. The commercial question is how to transform these complementary interests into investments and production, rather than settling for a new cycle of raw material extraction shipped abroad.
An extension of AGOA until 2028 would address a U.S. legislative issue. However, it does not answer the fundamental question of what U.S.-Africa trade should look like after 2028. This is precisely the question that should be negotiated now, while AGOA still ensures market access and Washington is still determining what it expects from its relations with Africa.
There is no justification for African governments to wait for a new deadline to force a decision. They must present a serious proposal to the Trump administration, rally around this proposal, keep the U.S. Congress informed, negotiate, and reach an agreement.
If they succeed, the next extension of AGOA will be remembered as much more than a temporary rescue. It will mark the moment when the United States and Africa began negotiating a lasting trade relationship.
Gregory P. Tosi is a lawyer based in Washington, D.C., and a former legal advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. He regularly writes on international economic development, politics, and public policy.
