The move follows bipartisan efforts to preserve duty-free access for thousands of products from eligible African countries and Haitian apparel and textiles…reports Africa Daily News Desk
The US Senate has approved a two-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) and the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership and Encouragement (HOPE).
The extension, secured as part of last week’s bipartisan continuing resolution (CR), maintains duty-free access to more than 1,800 products from eligible African countries and extends duty-free treatment for apparel and textile products from Haiti.
The move follows efforts by US Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, to secure the extensions.
“This extension is a win-win for Georgians and our trading partners in Haiti and Africa,” Warnock said.
“It will lower the cost of everyday goods and improve our national security by helping stabilize the economies of our global partners. This victory shows what is possible when we center the people in policymaking,” he added.
The HELP programme was introduced after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, with Congress expanding the range of goods eligible for duty-free treatment to more than 5,000 types of apparel and footwear.
The programme has supported Haiti’s domestic industry and employment and expired on October 1, 2025. Warnock helped lead efforts to reintroduce the Haiti HELP Act in February 2025.
According to Warnock’s office, the legislation supports stable and safe jobs in Haiti while ensuring US consumers have access to goods without state-sponsored forced labour.
The extension comes amid wider debate in Washington over tariffs and US trade policy under the Trump administration.
Warnock has used his oversight role in global commerce to challenge what he has described as the administration’s harmful tariff policies and their impact on US families, farmers and small businesses.
Last week, the senator also secured a written commitment from the Trump administration to limit presidential tariff authorities under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, according to his office.
In March, Warnock joined the Center for Strategic and International Studies for a discussion on the future of AGOA alongside Republican Congressman Adrian Smith of Nebraska, chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade.
The extension provides exporters and businesses in eligible African countries and Haiti with greater certainty over preferential access to the US market.
AGOA, which provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with preferential access to the US market for thousands of products, has long been viewed as an important mechanism for strengthening US economic engagement with Africa.
The continued HOPE and HELP programmes are similarly intended to support Haiti’s apparel and textile sectors by maintaining preferential access to US consumers.
The latest extensions come as Washington weighs broader changes to its trade policy while seeking to balance domestic economic priorities with international trade and development objectives.
