President Cyril Ramaphosa noted on Monday that if extended beyond 2025 for a lengthy period, and if used more effectively, the African Growth and Opportunity Act can contribute significantly to the further diversification of African economies. Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the nation that Agoa is an important instrument for growing and transforming South Africa’s economy with the benefits of felt through increased economic activity and the jobs created from this. The US trade initiative, which came to be in 2000, is set to expire in September 2025. It has been renewed twice since it came to pass. Last week South Africa hosted the twentieth Agoa Forum, in Johannesburg, where the case for the extension, or reauthorisation, of Agoa beyond 2025 was made. Ramaphosa said the latest extension of Agoa, could enable countries to produce a wider range of products using the abundance of minerals, metals and agricultural goods produced. “The extension of Agoa could also encourage the further development of value chains across different countries. We have already seen this happening in South Africa’s automotive industry, for example. Local automotive companies source leather car seats from Lesotho, wiring harnesses from Botswana, copper wiring from Zambia, steering wheel components from Tunisia and rubber from Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana and Cameroon. The vehicles are finally fully manufactured in South Africa then exported to the US duty-free under Agoa,” he said. Ramaphosa explained that the value of Agoa to African countries, however, extended beyond the impressive trade statistics. He added that Agoa could make an important contribution to the transformation of African countries from mainly being exporters of raw materials to producers of finished goods for both continental and global markets.