South African business group files proposal with US to preserve AGOA access for compliant firms

An independent South African business organisation has asked the United States to allow companies that meet market-based standards to retain duty-free access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) even when their national governments do not. Sakeliga submitted the proposal to the Office of the United States Trade Representative on 15 May 2026, during an ongoing review of AGOA.

What Sakeliga wants

Sakeliga’s submission argues for a move away from AGOA’s current all-or-nothing framework, under which an entire country either qualifies for tariff-free access or loses benefits based on its national government’s actions. The organisation proposes a system of subnational differentiation so that individual companies, provinces, municipalities or economic zones could qualify for preferential US market access independently of their national governments.

How the proposal would work

The plan would allow businesses to demonstrate compliance with US standards and register voluntarily for company-level benefits. Sakeliga says eligibility would be based on market- and merit-based principles rather than on ownership demographics.

“The beauty of this is that this is strictly non-racial. The requirement for these benefits is not a race requirement. It is a principal requirement,”

Russell Lamberti, executive director at Sakeliga.

Why the proposal was filed

Russell Lamberti told BizNews the submission forms part of efforts to modernise AGOA, which he said is under intense scrutiny in Washington and has been extended only until 31 December 2026. He said many US lawmakers and policymakers have grown “increasingly disillusioned” with the arrangement and that South Africa faces a risk of higher tariffs either through AGOA reviews or separate US trade investigations.

“In our view, whether it’s through AGOA or through executive action, tariffs are going up across the board in South Africa,”

Russell Lamberti.

An “off-ramp” for businesses

Lamberti characterised the proposal as an “off-ramp” from punitive measures and said agriculture would be particularly suited to the model because farms and crops are geographically identifiable. He acknowledged that administering a company-level compliance system could be complex but pointed to existing international trade mechanisms for tracing products and verifying compliance.

“We think ours is near the top of the pile,”

Russell Lamberti, describing Sakeliga’s standing among submissions to the AGOA review.

Next steps and limits

The submission is one of roughly 130 made as part of the AGOA review process. Lamberti stressed that any reform of AGOA would require action from the US Congress and described the path forward as “long, slow, complex.”

Context specific to South Africa

The BusinessTech report notes that American concerns raised in related discussions include expropriation without compensation, BEE policies, foreign policy alignments and the government’s response to certain chants. The article records Lamberti’s view that those demands are unlikely to be met by South Africa’s national government because they conflict with what he called “some of the ANC’s vital interests.”