South Africa made critical minerals the cornerstone of a push for a 15-year extension of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act, warning that short extensions undermine investor confidence and disrupt regional manufacturing plans. The AGOA trade deal gives African countries duty-free access to the American market.
In a filing to the Office of the US Trade Representative, Pretoria said it is already home to 12 of the 50 top critical minerals identified by the US as well as the process capacity to support American manufacturers. South Africa — which has the world’s largest deposits of platinum group metals, manganese, and chromium — also wants eligibility rules updated to reflect inequality, not just income thresholds.
AGOA had lapsed in September, but the US in February signed a retroactive extension until year-end. The trade deal has become part of a proxy fight over wider US-South Africa tensions — from Pretoria’s domestic Black empowerment politics, and its alignment with BRICS, to its genocide case against Israel.