Cocoa, Other Nigerian Products Vulnerable to U.S Tariff as AGOA is Disrupted

The uncertainties around the functions of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) were raised at the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

While addressing U.S. officials, Ramaphosa placed a lot of emphasis on increased investment in Africa. He said, “We would like to see ourselves continuing with AGOA, which really is about creating prosperity for our continent.”

The AGOA is due for renewal in September 2025, but there is a growing fear around its validity for the 32 African nations involved.

A member of the S.A. team at the White House, Parks Tau, said that a proposal regarding a framework agreement focusing in particular on issues related to trade and investment was recently submitted to the office of the US Trade Representative. Some sections of the proposal deal with AGOA-related issues.

US officials confirmed that the congress are currenty looking into the AGOA matter.

Regardless of the revision and reissue of AGOA, the new Trump tariff puts an extra vulnerability on Nigeria’s non-oil exports. These products previously benefited from duty-free access under the AGOA.

Non-Oil Exports, particularly under AGOA, previously entered the U.S. market tariff-free, but now face a 14% tariff (or higher in some cases). This makes them less competitive and can significantly reduce demand.

The new tariffs effectively nullify the advantages offered by AGOA to agricultural products like Cocoa beans. Additional cost of tariffs is already making Nigerian goods more expensive for American buyers, and could lead to a decline in demand.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has warned that these tariffs could wipe out significant portions of agricultural export revenue. More so, it could take the element of value-added exports and hinder Nigeria’s efforts to diversify its economy away from crude oil.