South Africa’s President seeks extension of AGOA after spat with Trump

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says his country wants to continue trading with the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The South Africa Mail and Guardian online says the president made the comment during a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly on Tuesday. AGOA, which grants duty-free access to the US market, is set to expire in September this year. President Donald Trump has recently criticized South Africa after it passed the Expropriation Act in January. Trump has said the law was an attempt to confiscate land from white farmers. Ramaphosa says this was a mischaracterization. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA’s James Butty, President Ramaphosa’s desire to engage the US is a big climb down after once saying that South Africa will not be bullied