AGOA

About the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)

The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a trade mechanism that was passed by the US Government in 2000 to encourage US-Africa trade.

AGOA provides AGOA-eligible countries with the following:

• Most liberal access to US markets for any country or region without at free trade agreement
• Reinforced reform and development efforts for Africa
• Access to US credit and technical expertise

Eligibility for AGOA was designed to reward and provide incentives for African nations that are making progress in political and economic reforms. 

Each African nations performance is assessed using the following criteria:

• Establishment of market based economies
• Development of political pluralism and the rule of law
• Elimination of barriers to US trade and investment
• Protection of intellectual property rights
• Efforts to combat corruption
• Policies to reduce poverty and increase access to health care and education
• Protection of human rights and worker rights
• Elimination of certain child labor practices

By creating tangible incentives for African countries to implement economic and commercial reform policies, AGOA contributes to better market opportunities and stronger commercial partners in Africa for US companies.

AGOA should help forge stronger commercial ties between African countries and the United States, while it helps to integrate Africa into the global economy. US firms may find new opportunities in the privatization of African state-owned enterprises or in partnerships with African companies in infrastructure projects. US firms can also benefit by forming joint ventures with African or other firms to take advantage of AGOA benefits.