Communique – AGOA Extension Bill and Retroactive Application of AGOA Certificates of Origin

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Extension Bill was introduced in the United States Senate on 13 January 2026. The proposed legislation seeks to extend duty-free access to the US market for most exports from eligible Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries until 31 December 2028.

The Bill provides for the continuation of preferential treatment under the Trade Act of 1974 and AGOA for 32 eligible African countries. It also extends two key AGOA provisions, namely:

1. The duty-free treatment of certain apparel articles from beneficiary SSA countries; and
2. The third-country fabric provision, which allows limited quantities of apparel articles from lesser-developed beneficiary countries, including Mauritius, to qualify for duty-free access to the US market.

In addition, the Bill introduces a retroactive refund mechanism. It provides for the reimbursement of duties paid on eligible articles from SSA countries that entered the United States after 30 September 2025 and before the enactment of the Bill, provided that an AGOA Certificate of Origin is submitted to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The EDB Mauritius encourages all eligible exporters to take note of these developments and to liaise with their customs brokers and relevant authorities in order to benefit from the extended AGOA preferences.