AGOA ELIGIBILITY

General Country Eligibility Provisions

The U.S. Government intends that the largest possible number of Sub-Saharan African countries are able to take advantage of AGOA. President Clinton issued a proclamation on October 2, 2000 designating 34 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa as eligible for the trade benefits of AGOA. The proclamation was the result of a public comment period and extensive interagency deliberations of each country’s performance against the eligibility criteria established in the Act. On January 18, 2001, Swaziland was designated as the 35th AGOA eligible country and on May 16, 2002 Côte d'Ivoire was designated as the 36th AGOA eligible country. On January 1, 2003 The Gambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo were designated as the 37th and 38th AGOA eligible countries. On January 1, 2004, Angola was designated as AGOA eligibile. Effective January 1, 2004, however, the President removed the Central African Republic and Eritrea from the list of eligible countries. On December 10, 2004, the President designated Burkina Faso as AGOA eligible. Effective January 1, 2005, the President removed Côte d'Ivoire from the list of eligible countries. Effective January 1, 2006, the President designated Burundi as AGOA eligible and removed Mauritania from the list of eligible countries. Effective December 29, 2006, the President designated Liberia as AGOA eligible. Effective June 28, 2007, the President again designated Mauritania as AGOA eligible. Effective April 17, 2008, the President designated Togo as AGOA eligible. Effective June 30, 2008, the President designated Comoros as AGOA eligible. Effective January 1, 2009, the President again removed Mauritania from the list of AGOA eligible countries. The U.S. Government will work with eligible countries to sustain their efforts to institute policy reforms, and with the remaining nine Sub-Saharan African countries to help them achieve eligibility.

The Act authorizes the President to designate countries as eligible to receive the benefits of AGOA if they are determined to have established, or are making continual progress toward establishing the following: market-based economies; the rule of law and political pluralism; elimination of barriers to U.S. trade and investment; protection of intellectual property; efforts to combat corruption; policies to reduce poverty, increasing availability of health care and educational opportunities; protection of human rights and worker rights; and elimination of certain child labor practices. These criteria have been embraced overwhelmingly by the vast majority of African nations, which are striving to achieve the objectives although none is expected to have fully implemented the entire list.

The eligibility criteria for GSP and AGOA substantially overlap, and countries must be GSP eligible in order to receive AGOA’s trade benefits including both expanded GSP and the apparel provisions. Although GSP eligibility does not imply AGOA eligibility, 47 of the 48 Sub-Saharan African countries are currently GSP eligible.

Countries Eligible for AGOA Benefits

Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Chad; Comoros; Republic of Congo; Democratic Republic of Congo; Djibouti; Ethiopia; Gabon; The Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Sao Tome and Principe; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; South Africa; Swaziland; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; Zambia.

Below is a table listing AGOA eligible countries, the effective date of their eligibility, and the effective date of their eligibility for AGOA apparel benefits if applicable. 

 

COUNTRY DATE DECLARED AGOA ELIGIBLE DATE DECLARED ELIGIBLE FOR APPAREL PROVISION SPECIAL RULE FOR APPAREL (Republic of) Angola December 30, 2003     (Republic of) Benin October 2, 2000 January 28, 2004 Yes (Republic of) Botswana October 2, 2000 August 27, 2001 Yes Burkina Faso December 10, 2004 August 4, 2006 Yes (Republic of) Burundi January 1, 2006     (Republic of) Cameroon October 2, 2000 March 1, 2002 Yes (Republic of) Cape Verde October 2, 2000 August 28, 2002 Yes (Republic of) Chad October 2, 2000 April 26, 2006 Yes (Union of) Comoros June 30 , 2008     (Republic of) Congo October 2, 2000     (Democratic Republic of) Congo * December 31, 2002     (Republic of) Djibouti October 2, 2000     Ethiopia October 2, 2000 August 2, 2001 Yes Gabonese (Republic) October 2, 2000   No The Gambia December 31, 2002 April 28, 2008 Yes (Republic of) Ghana October 2, 2000 March 20, 2002 Yes (Republic of) Guinea October 2, 2000     (Republic of) Guinea-Bissau October 2, 2000     (Republic of) Kenya October 2, 2000 January 18, 2001 Yes (Kingdom of) Lesotho October 2, 2000 April 23, 2001 Yes (Republic of) Liberia December 29 , 2006     (Republic of) Madagascar October 2, 2000 March 6, 2001 Yes (Republic of) Malawi October 2, 2000 August 15, 2001 Yes (Republic of) Mali October 2, 2000 December 11, 2003 Yes (Republic of) Mauritius October 2, 2000 January 18, 2001 Yes (Republic of) Mozambique October 2, 2000 February 8, 2002 Yes (Republic of) Namibia October 2, 2000 December 3, 2001 Yes (Republic of) Niger October 2, 2000  December 17, 2003 Yes (Federal republic of) Nigeria October 2, 2000  July 14, 2004 Yes  (Republic of) Rwanda October 2, 2000 March 4, 2003 Yes (Democratic Republic of) Sao Tome and Principe October 2, 2000     (Republic of) Senegal October 2, 2000 April 23, 2002 Yes (Republic of) Seychelles October 2, 2000   No (Republic of) Sierra Leone October 23, 2002  April 5, 2004 Yes (Republic of) South Africa October 2, 2000 March 7, 2001 No (Kingdom of) Swaziland January 17, 2001 July 26, 2001 Yes (United Republic of) Tanzania October 2, 2000 February 4, 2002 Yes (Republic of) Togo April 17, 2008     (Republic of) Uganda October 2, 2000 October 23, 2001 Yes (Republic of) Zambia October 2, 2000 December 17, 2001 Yes