The United States said on Tuesday it had extended the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a programme that grants duty-free access to the U.S. market for exports from many African countries, through Dec. 31, 2026.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that President Donald Trump had signed legislation allowing the continuation of the trade preference programme, with retroactive effect from Sept. 30, 2025, when the law previously expired.

Greer said that “AGOA in the 21st century must ask more of our trading partners and open more markets to U.S. companies, farmers and ranchers.”

The move underscores Trump’s continued use of tariffs as a central tool to reshape international trade relations under his administration.