Four leading U.S. members of Congress have written to Blinken, Jake Sullivan and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai demanding that the U.S. move the upcoming meeting of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), scheduled for South Africa, out of that nation, in order to punish the largest African economy for cooperating with Russia and China, and take steps to remove South Africa from the organization altogether.
Such a move would have a serious impact on the nation’s economy. The AGOA allows sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the U.S. market provided they meet certain conditions, AP reports. South Africa’s exports to the U.S. through AGOA were estimated at $3 billion last year. The U.S. is South Africa’s second-biggest trade partner after China.
The Biden Administration has not taken any step in accepting the demand as yet.
