I will eat my hat if we get to the end of 2025 and SA still benefits from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), the US legislation giving preferential access to the American market for most African states.
Agoa is not a trade agreement, and although valuable, I believe the cost of the preferential access is beginning to outweigh the benefits. The decision our politicians need to make is whether we are better off waiting for the axe to fall, or whether we should choose the time and terms of our exit.
I don’t believe grovelling before President Trump will accomplish anything. Trump seems determined to punish South Africa for things we mostly haven’t done, but in a world untroubled by facts, this doesn’t seem to bother the First Citizen.
Before we hit the panic button, let’s look at the Agoa facts.
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