President John Mahama has declared the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) “technically dead” after the United States imposed fresh tariffs on African exports, including a 15% levy on Ghana’s goods.

He made the remarks during his first presidential media encounter of his second term in office, warning that there is little hope of the trade agreement’s renewal.

“Countries like Africa enjoyed zero tariffs in the US because we were in the developing world. It was a concession that the US gave. In comes President Trump. He has a more transactional mindset.

"He says the US has been taken for granted for a long time so even countries like Ghana in Africa, he slapped a 15% tariff on us from a zero tariff.

"AGOA is technically dead. It was due for renegotiation in September, but there is no way with this 15% tariff, AGOA is going to be renewed. We are just watching carefully.

"The power to impose tariffs is that of Congress, but in this case, the US president [Donald Trump] always pushes the limit,” Mahama said.

AGOA, enacted in 2000, has been the cornerstone of U.S. trade policy with sub-Saharan Africa, granting duty-free access to the American market for over 1,800 products, alongside more than 5,000 products under the Generalised System of Preferences program.

The programme was modernised and extended in 2015 to run until 2025, but the Trump administration’s protectionist policies have cast serious doubt over its future.

For Ghana, the imposition of tariffs represents a direct blow to export competitiveness, marking a sharp reversal from years of duty-free trade under AGOA.