President John Dramani Mahama has declared the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) “technically dead” following fresh tariffs imposed by the United States on African exports, including a 15% levy on goods from Ghana.
Speaking at his first presidential media encounter of his second term, Mahama warned that there is little prospect of the trade deal being renewed.
“Countries like Ghana enjoyed zero tariffs in the U.S. because we were part of the developing world. It was a concession the U.S. gave. But in comes President Trump, with a more transactional mindset. He says the U.S. has been taken for granted for too long, so he slapped a 15% tariff on us from a zero tariff,” Mahama said.
He added: “AGOA is technically dead. It was due for renegotiation in September, but with this 15% tariff, there is no way it will be renewed. We are just watching carefully. The power to impose tariffs lies with Congress, but in this case, President Trump always pushes the limit.”
Enacted in 2000, AGOA granted sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the U.S. market for more than 1,800 products, alongside over 5,000 products under the Generalised System of Preferences. The programme was modernised and extended in 2015 to run until 2025, but the Trump administration’s protectionist stance has cast doubt on its survival.
For Ghana, the new tariffs deliver a major blow to export competitiveness, reversing years of gains under duty-free trade arrangements.
