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  3. Priority Trade Issues
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  5. Special Trade Legislation
  6. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)

African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)

Background

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides duty-free treatment to goods of designated sub-Saharan African countries (SSAs). The program dates from 2000 and has the goal of promoting economic growth through good governance and free markets. It covers non-textile as well as textile goods and was most recently re-authorized through September 30, 2025.
 

Eligibility

Some 5,240 tariff items are eligible for AGOA benefits. In order to benefit from AGOA, a good must be either wholly obtained (grown, fished, mined, etc.) or sufficiently manufactured in an AGOA country. Sufficiently manufactured means that all 3rd-country materials have undergone a substantial transformation and at least 35% of the good’s value is added in the beneficiary country, with up to 15% of that value attributable to U.S. inputs. Additionally, the good must be “imported directly”.
 

Merchandise Processing Fee

Per 19 CFR 24.23(c)(1), textile goods, which are entered using HTSUS 9819, and all goods of Least Developed Beneficiary Developing Countries (LDBDCs) (HTSUS General Note 4(b)(i)) are exempt from merchandise processing fee (MPF).
 

Special Program Indicator

Beginning in 2017 eligible tariff items are identified by the symbol “D” in the “Special” sub-column of the HTSUS.
 

Citations and Resources

Last Modified: Sep 11, 2023