DIRCO In Damage Control After US Lawmakers Call For Reconsideration Of Its AGOA Status

South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said that the US has not taken any decision regarding moving November's African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) summit to another country. A spokesman for the DIRCO said that the nation "enjoys the support of the US government" and will host the event.

• This comes after the New York Times reported that a group of senior US lawmakers penned a letter to the White House asking the White House to consider moving the 2023 AGOA Forum out of South Africa due to the sub-Saharan nation's "damaging support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and possible violation of US sanctions law."
• The authors of the letter argued that the actions by South Africa "call into question its eligibility for trade benefits under AGOA due to the statutory requirement that beneficiary countries not engage in activities that undermine United States national security or foreign policy interests."
• The AGOA provides participating countries with duty-free access for selected goods to the US trade market. Around 25% of South African exports to the US, its second-larges trading partner after China, enjoy duty-free access. The loss of AGOA status would take the heaviest toll on South Africa's automotive sector.