White House Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced in a statement Monday Washington's intention to exclude South Africa and Rwanda from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), arguing that the two countries do not comply with its terms.

AGOA is a cornerstone of trade relations between the United States and African countries. It allows African countries to export many products to the United States duty-free.

Around thirty of the fifty or so countries on the African continent theoretically benefit from the agreement, which covers a wide range of products from clothing to yams and cars.

It was renewed last September by the US Congress.

South Africa is among the main beneficiaries, but Pretoria is in the crosshairs of the US government, which accuses it of alleged persecution of Afrikaners - descendants of white European settlers.

The South African Department of Trade was still hoping on Thursday for a positive decision from the White House, believing it would be in the best interest of both the United States and South Africa.

But, "based on the annual review" of the agreement carried out in recent weeks, "President Trump has determined that the governments of Rwanda and South Africa have engaged in practices that do not meet the eligibility criteria for AGOA," Mr. Greer said in a statement.

The decision will take effect on January 1st.

Regarding Pretoria, Washington criticizes in particular limitations on American trade and investment in the country, the level of corruption, as well as threats to the national security of the United States and its interests in terms of foreign policy.

In a statement, the Southern African Citrus Growers Association lamented a decision that will deal "a serious blow to the industry," adding that "the entire value chain, on both sides of the Atlantic, is threatened," said its director general, Boitshoko Ntshabele.

South Africa is the world's second largest producer of citrus fruits after Spain, these fruits being its main agricultural export.

The criticisms are different with regard to Kigali, with the USTR communiqué citing among the reasons the rule of law, political pluralism, workers' rights and more broadly respect for human rights.

But he also points to more economic issues, such as tariff barriers and investment barriers, again.

Relations between the United States and Rwanda have become particularly strained in recent months, with Washington accusing Kigali of continuing to support the Congolese armed group M23, financially and militarily, and of taking advantage of the chaotic situation in the east of its large neighbor, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The White House, for its part, is trying to finalize a peace agreement there in order to end a conflict of more than 30 years that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths.

At the beginning of 2025, the M23, which already controlled vast swathes of territory in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, seized the major cities of Goma and Bukavu, at the end of a particularly deadly offensive.

AFP