WATCH: Agoa exclusion is a negative: Ramaphosa signals new US trade deal push

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described South Africa’s exclusion from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) as a setback, while signalling a shift towards strengthening bilateral trade relations with the United States.

Ramaphosa made the remarks after casting his ballot alongside First Lady Dr Tshepo Motsepe at Hyde Park High School on election day.

On Monday, the US Trade Representative announced that South Africa and Rwanda would be excluded from the duty-free trade programme, citing practices deemed inconsistent with the agreement’s eligibility requirements. The exclusions will take effect on 1 January, 2027.

‘Negative for SA’

Ramaphosa acknowledged the impact of the decision.

“The exclusion from Agoa is indeed a negative for us,” he said.

However, he stressed that South Africa was looking beyond Agoa and wanted to pursue a trade relationship based on direct negotiations between sovereign nations.

“We want to focus more on a bilateral trade agreement where both parties sit down and negotiate trade rules and trade mechanisms.”

Trade relationships

The president said South Africa had already begun diversifying its trade relationships and expanding access to new markets.

“Diversification has now become the order of the day.”

Despite the Agoa setback, Ramaphosa said trade ties between Pretoria and Washington would continue.

“While we’ve been removed from Agoa, our trade relations with the United States continue.”

“Predictable and preventable’

Earlier this week, United States (US) ambassador to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell III said South Africa’s removal from Agoa was a “predictable and preventable” consequence of government policies, accusing Pretoria of failing to address concerns raised by Washington and warning that it must recognise the gravity of the situation.

“It is regrettable that South African policies led to the termination of Agoa for South Africa. This was a predictable and preventable outcome resulting from the rejection by South Africa’s government of real concerns raised by the US government.

“I remain hopeful that we can find a path forward to address our larger bilateral concerns, but the South African government must understand the gravity of the situation. We know that if America succeeds, so too will South Africa. This is the partnership I will continue to pursue as expeditiously as possible,” Bozell said.

Billions

The Agoa, which grants eligible sub-Saharan African countries preferential access to the US market, has been renewed until the end of 2028, but is reviewed annually.

South Africa is the programme’s largest beneficiary, but its eligibility has come under scrutiny as Washington steps up criticism of Pretoria, including allegations of discrimination against white Afrikaners that South Africa rejects.

Last month, Bozell warned that billions of dollars in American investment and thousands of jobs were at stake, saying South Africa’s policies are standing in the way, and warned that Pretoria must remove the barriers or risk losing those opportunities to other countries.

US relations

The ambassador’s latest remarks marked a fresh escalation in increasingly strained relations between Washington and Pretoria.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Bozell accused Ramaphosa of failing to condemn the controversial “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” chant, describing it as an incitement to violence.