U.S. Senate approves extension of AGOA trade act through 2028

The United States Senate has passed a bill to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through December 2028, with a decisive vote of 90 to 6. The legislation aims to maintain duty-free access to the American market for numerous sub-Saharan African nations.

A critical component for the Mauritian textile and apparel industry is the preservation of the Third Country Fabric (TCF) rule. This mechanism allows beneficiary countries to import raw textiles from third parties to manufacture garments for the U.S. market without losing preferential tariff status. The Senate-approved text maintains current TCF provisions without modification.

The extension provides economic stability for various sectors across Africa, including South African automotive industries, Madagascan vanilla, and Kenyan textiles. While the Senate vote indicates strong bipartisan support, the bill must still be reviewed by the House of Representatives before it can be signed into law.