Minister of Trade, Industry and Business Development, Mr. Mokhethi Shelile assured Basotho of the extension of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) despite waiting for approval and signing by United States President Donald Trump at the Media briefing.
Mr. Shelile paid a visit to the United States last week as a delegation representing four African countries including Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius and Tanzania where they met with different committees that gave a green light to the AGOA extension
He said they believe that this Bill will be passed as it has already gained support from 340 lawmakers before moving to the Senate saying since it will be tabled along with other Bills, it is expected to be passed by January end, proceed to the Senate and finally head to
President Donald Trump for approval and signing.
Furthermore, he stressed that President Trump’s decision cannot be controlled or be influenced by any country but they are hopeful that he will approve and sign off as they held several meetings with different committees whereby they agreed on the benefits of AGOA not only to Lesotho but to Africa as a continent.
Moreover, he highlighted a huge setback by revealing that exports from Lesotho to the U.S have declined from 65 percent to 20 percent.
On the other hand, Director Trade Ms. ‘Malineo Seboholi clarified that targeting diversification of products and markets by establishing partnerships with countries like Europe and the United Kingdom shall be their response strategy
Meanwhile, on January 12, the United States House of Representatives approved a three-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the trade programme that allows many sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to American markets.
AGOA expired in September 2025 after lapsing for a few months, disrupting African exports, hurting businesses and weakening the continent’s trade ties with the United States.
The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of the extension of this bill known as AGOA Extension Act with 340 lawmakers supporting the Bill and opposition of 54. The legislation now moves to the Senate for further consideration. However, the fate of South Africa’s participation remains uncertain amid ongoing trade and diplomatic tensions with the U.S.
This Bill focuses on the extension of certain trade benefits and customs user fees related to imports from specific African countries.
It aims to accomplish among others extension of duty-free treatment for imports from specified countries in Africa under AGOA. It proposes to change the expiration date for these benefits from September 30, 2025 to December 31, 2028 which means that countries eligible under AGOA will continue to receive preferential treatment when exporting to the United States for an additional three years.
It also amends provisions concerning regional apparel article programs, increasing certain limits: it extends the limit on succeeding apparel articles from 21 to 24.
Similar adjustments are made to other sections related to third-country fabric programs, ensuring that more types of fabrics may be used in producing apparel that can be exported duty-free.
The Bill further includes a provision for retroactive application of the duty-free treatment. Any covered articles that entered the U.S. after September 30, 2025, and before the enactment of this Act can be treated as if they entered on the date of enactment. This means that importers may request to have their duties recalculated based on the new law.
It adds that importers must submit their requests within 180 days after the enactment of the Act while amounts owed by the U.S. for these re-duties will be paid without interest within 90 days of the liquidation or reliquidation process.
The bill also extends customs user fees set within the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 and the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. The expiration date for these fees was also moved from September 30, 2031 to December 31, 2031.
AGOA has for years remained a cornerstone of Lesotho’s export-led growth in the textile and apparel sector.
Source: LENA 20/01/2026
