The USA African Growth and Opportunity Act

1. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is US legislation known -formally known as the 'Trade and Development Act of 2000' that;
2. AGOA provides for preferential market access of the eligible products of the Sub - Saharan African countries into the United State of America  under a unilateral trade arrangement.
3. AGOA extends duty-free access to products designated under the USA's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) and more than 2,000 additional tariff lines.
4. For a country to be AGOA eligible, it must be a SSA country and meet AGOA's eligibility requirements set out in section 104 of the legislation.
5. Originally set to expire in 2008, AGOA has been extended a few times, most recently in 2015 to September 2025 and it is expected to be extended further.

Namibia and AGOA

1. Namibia is one of the designated eligible Sub - Saharan African countries which benefiting from the Africa Growth Opportunity Act
2. Namibia developed and launched her AGOA utilization strategy on 10 May 2021. The aim of the Strategy is to increase Namibian exports to the USA. AGOA is set to expire on 30 September 2025 if extension is not granted by the US Congress.
3. On 20 September 2016, Namibia became the first (and currently only) African country to receive authorization from the US Department of Agriculture to export raw beef/veal to the US.

To obtain preferential status under AGOA

1. Check if the product is AGOA/GSP eligible (0% duty) — Tariff Code 'D' for AGOA or 'A' for GSP).
2. Alternatively: Check applicable duty, or whether duty-free status under general US import tariff rules,
3. Ensure compliance with Rules of Origin requirements.
4. Obtain certificate of origin endorsement from Namibian customs / revenue service.
5. Exporters / potential exporters should also obtain other import requirements, if any, for the specific product that is intended for export. Beef exports and Grape Exports to the USA are subject to specific animal and plant health requirements as determined by the US Authorities.

Details about USA import requirements for beef imports from Namibia can be found here and USA import requirements for Table grape imports  from Namibia can be found here

Further information can be obtained at www.AGOA.info

Generalised Systems of Preferences (GSP)

1. Namibia is eligible for several non-reciprocal preferences under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) schemes (consistent with Artilce XXIV of the GATT) of developed countries and of some developing countries.
2. As an upper middle income country, in 2023 Namibia was eligible for unilateral preferences offered by the following countries, Armenia, Australia, Canada, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, New Zealand, Norway, Russian Federation and United States (AGOA)
3. Namibia benefits from these GSP schemes (especially on agricultural products)
4. The claim for GSP treatment must be supported with a complete GSP Certificate of Form A.
5. UNCTAD has prepared 10 GSP handbooks in a user-friendly format, emphasizing how stakeholders in beneficiary countries can make the best use of each scheme.
6. These are available at https://unctad.org/webflyer/gsp-handbook-scheme
7. Users of a particular handbook are encouraged to do the following:

Step 1: Check the product coverage

Step 2: Identify the correct GSP rate

Step 3: Check the preferential margin

Step 4: Check the origin criteria

Step 5: Check the consignment conditions

Step 6: Prepare documentary evidence

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[1] https://agoa.info/images/documents/15842/