The SACP has condemned the US government’s decision to terminate South Africa’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) and, in response, is calling for a review of all Agoa-related concessions and arrangements previously granted to the US.

The US administration said the exclusion will take effect on January 1, 2027.

According to the SACP, the comprehensive review must encompass tariff-rate quotas, associated trade preferences, and food, plant, health, and safety compromises – specifically those relating to poultry, beef, and pork imports.

The party insists that any trade, regulatory, or market-access arrangements previously agreed on to satisfy US demands for Agoa eligibility must be re-evaluated.

The SACP stated that the decision has long been anticipated, pointing to what it described as “racist tropes” spread by US President Donald Trump regarding white farmers in South Africa.

The party linked the exclusion to South Africa’s foreign policy, asserting that both the US decision and the “underlying rhetoric” are direct retaliatory responses to South Africa’s decision to refer Israel to the International Court of Justice over allegations of genocide against Palestinians.

Furthermore, the SACP highlighted the “strategic timing” of the announcement, noting it occurred on the eve of the US mid-term elections.

The party argued the timeline was intentionally designed to facilitate ratification during the “lame-duck session” of the outgoing US Congress before the incoming one takes office.

The party pushed back against narratives in the media and certain "Afri-MAGA" circles that portray South Africa's exclusion as a self-inflicted disaster caused by a failure to meet reasonable US demands.

The SACP argued this viewpoint deliberately misrepresents the actual practice of Agoa, which was originally established as a non-reciprocal preferential trade agreement to support African market access.

Instead, the SACP contends that the second Trump administration is using Agoa as an “imperial policy tool” to undermine South Africa's national sovereignty and self-determination.

The party stated that continued access to the programme has repeatedly been leveraged to demand concessions that benefit US corporate interests at the expense of South Africa's domestic industrial growth and policy independence.

The SACP argued that South Africa's exclusion does not represent a collapse of market access, because the practical value of Agoa had already been heavily eroded.

Since January 2025, the second Trump administration has implemented broad global tariffs, including 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports affecting South Africa, which Agoa failed to mitigate or offset.

The party viewed the exclusion as part of a wider structural strategy by the US to promote a trade dynamic that favours the export of raw materials from developing nations while systematically crippling their capacity to produce high-value finished goods.

This dynamic, the SACP argued, serves as a re-industrialisation strategy for the US at the expense of South African production capacity.

Expressing solidarity with impacted workers, particularly those at Mercedes-Benz and its supply chains, the SACP affirmed its readiness to join organised actions alongside the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and other affected unions.

The SACP stated that if the US finalised the exclusion on January 1, 2027, South Africa has no justification for maintaining the domestic concessions previously granted to preserve Agoa access.

The party urged South Africa to reduce its dependence on unilateral trade arrangements and a single export market.

Instead, it advocated for an intensified focus on diversifying export destinations, deepening regional economic integration, and expanding trade within the Global South.

Crucially, the SACP called for prioritising the African Continental Free Trade Area to build resilient regional value chains and continent-wide industrial capacity.