In a Federal Register Notice (FRN) issued on May 17, 2023, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced the initiation of the annual country eligibility review for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). USTR is seeking comments on “the progress of each sub-Saharan African country in meeting the foregoing eligibility criteria in order to determine if a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country should continue to be eligible, and if a sub-Saharan African country that currently is not a beneficiary, should be designated as a beneficiary” for calendar year 2024.

A complete list of beneficiary countries is included in the FRN, as well as a list of sub-Saharan countries not designated as beneficiaries for calendar year 2023.

Comments are due by July 7, 2023. Details on comment submission can be found in the FRN here:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/05/17/2023-10480/annual-review-of-country-eligibility-for-benefits-under-the-african-growth-and-opportunity-act-for