EU, UK, and USA Tighten Regulatory Standards Across the Textiles Markets Effective in 2025 and Beyond – Are You Ready?

South Africa must have 2025 AGOA reauthorization without penalties and must expand the US market segments available to textile & fashion exporters in order to prosper. US markets are the alternative to the significant expense of the 2025 European Union regulatory structures. South African businesses must open branches inside the US in order to secure market presence before AGOA terminates in September 2025.

2025 is set to become the annus horribilis¹ for the fashion industry in particular and the textile industry more generally. In the past decade, numerous policies and regulations have emerged to promote sustainable fashion, addressing both environmental and social issues across textile, clothing, footwear, and leather value chains. The US is the consumption leader globally.² Already, since 2022 the US has required importers to demonstrate to the customs officials that garments presented for import are “unconnected” to forced labor in Xinjiang Province, China.³ The EU has similar laws and more coming into effect in March 2025. These layers of laws only grow more numerous and complex annually – reaching into all aspects of the fashion industry and textile supply chain. The coalescing of nations around layered restrictions on international trade “adversaries” (competitors) is the “real politic” justification driving

¹ Queen Elizabeth II used the phrase in a speech in 1992 to describe that year, which was marked by several horrific events for the United Kingdom and the crown.

² The US garment market is the largest in the world, with a global share of 23% of total consumption. The US apparel market’s revenue in 2024 was estimated at $358.70 billion, while the global apparel market was valued at $1.79 trillion. https://www.statista.com/topics/5091/apparel-market- worldwide/#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20and%20China,move%20production%20clos er%20to%20home.

³ Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act requires that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) force textile importers to (1) show by clear and convincing evidence, (2) through diagrams and other physical evidence, (3) that their supply chains from the raw materials to the finished goods presented at the border for importation to the US are (4) free from Uyghur forced labor, and (5) free from the Xinjiang Province even if the supply chain or the goods are not otherwise apparently related to China in any manner. This law effects all products – textiles, fruits, vegetables, other manufactured or value added goods.

these multi-national laws in favor of nation specific trade impairment policies. The shift of the legislative “justifications” from social justice motivations (protecting human rights through trade policies) to the current focus on the environmental harm of the textile & fashion industry practices – is altruistic on the part of some in the coalition and nativist, nationalist, and protectionist in other coalition nations. What business needs to prepare for is the unintended chaos in the supply chain as a result of these laws, and business must have a reasonable approach to staying ahead of these laws through leadership education (i.e., consultants and seminars hosted by trade associations) and advanced planning for solutions.

The Challenge For Industry In 2025 –

The national and sub-national laws which are closing-in on the textile & fashion industry are many and some are unlikely culprits as they pose as purely consumer protection laws but are used by government and advocates to punish the industry into submission. Participants in the textile & fashion industries need to more aggressively prepare for the coming storm of regulation and enforcement actions in order to avoid having containers stuck in warehouses pending the outcome of lawsuits.

Examples of national laws include the E.U. Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles; the Bangladesh Accord; Australian Modern Slavery Law;⁴ the Sustainability Compact;⁵ the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains; and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.⁶ At your business ask – “How many of these laws were the management team aware of?“ and “Does anyone know when are the rules effective as to the business?” The answer to these questions are a good metric for how much work leadership has yet to accomplish.

Sub-national laws are equally as troublesome and far less likely to gain notoriety in the industry until after the first arrests and seizures of goods in transit. Take the example of the State of New York and the remarkable legislation entitled “New York Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act,”⁷ and the example of the State of California

⁴ https://www.fashionrevolution.org/aus tralia-blog/an-australian-modern-slavery-act-what- does-it-mean-for-the-fashion-industry/

⁵ International Labour Organization. 2020 [cited 2024 Oct 28]. Sustainability compact for the Bangladesh ready-made garment industry. Available from: https://www.ilo.org/publications/sustainability-compact-bangladesh-rmg-industry

⁶ H.R. 6256 effective June 2022, penalizes American companies that become involved in funding (directly or indirectly) China’s perceived forced labor program in Xinjiang effecting the Uyghur people. https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA

⁷ Not yet law, though, the State law as written requires clothing companies with annual revenues over $100 million to disclose and mitigate the climate and social impacts of their production, including greenhouse gas emissions, production volume, water use, and toxic chemicals, in line with the Paris Agreement. Companies must map at least 50% of their suppliers and report wages relative to local minimum wages, with all data uploaded to a public government database. Noncompliance could result in fines of up to 2% of revenues.

legislation known as “SB62;”⁸ These are two prime examples of the power of States to influence the trade of nations. These American States have a large influence on the fashion industries (in particular) and these laws have already caused global impacts which are not readily apparent.

Aspirational proposed national laws, such as the Americas Trade and Investment Act;⁹ and France’s fast-fashion tax¹⁰ are part of the evolving landscape of regulation that is moving very quickly from proposal to action.¹¹ This regulatory wave reflects the use of either punitive measures (France) or financial incentives (America) to force changes in the textile & fashion industry practices. All of these laws are also tools for national protectionist policies which avoid World Trade Organization (WTO) prohibitions on trade restrictions through benign “justifications.”¹² Resultant is the manufacturers and retailers – must be alert at all levels of the global value chain and must continually professionally assess regulatory compliance of the supply chain in each country (or State) into which the textile or fashion is sold. Are you ready for that burden?

Stay Informed – Join A Trade Association –

The obvious outcome of a reasoned inquiry is that the manufacturers and retailers – must be alert that all levels of the global value chain are continually subject to multi- directional threats of prosecution or (worse) that textiles or garments will get turned away at the border rather than delivered. Avoid that chaotic outcome – business must perform professionally prepared assessments of regulatory compliance for each country (or State) into which the textile & fashion is sold. Larger companies should consider staff position(s) exclusively focused on the compliance book in a manner similar to

⁸ The law prevents piecework payment, broadens the powers to collect unpaid wages, extends compliance liability to the brands using the producer, and creates extraordinary remedies for the worker. https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB62/id/2434679

⁹ The bill, which is not law, is intended to use incentives to encourage textile waste management and circular fashion re-use policies by manufacturers and producers. The preamble to the bill declares the law is the “only major strategic economic plan to counter China’s growing geopolitical and economic power in the Western Hemisphere…” https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Senate-Americas-Act-Section-by- Section.pdf

¹⁰ In March 2024, France’s National Assembly unanimously passed a bill imposing steep penalties on fast-fashion products due to their environmental impact. These products are almost exclusively from China and other low wage Asian countries. Leading brands may face fees of up to €10 ($10.90) per item by 2030 for products deemed most environmentally damaging. This bill is not law as of this writing. The bill would also ban fast-fashion companies from advertising in France and would require them to display information on the circular economy—a product’s reuse, repair, redesign (recycling), and environmental impact— alongside its price on websites and apps.

¹¹ Fashion brands selling in North America and the European Union “import” almost all of the B2C garments (whether measuring the materials or the final products). The current state of the industry obscures the traceability of the components of garments whether through trade secret protections or legal structures to avoid place of origin candor.

¹² These “justifications” reflect also the increasing global awareness of the textile & fashion industry effects on the environmental and human rights.

larger food importers addressing that regulatory system. The complexity and the penalties found in the trade restrictive laws argue in favor of this serious approach without delay.

Join a trade association which is good at following the legal environment and prolific in its newsletters and seminars.

Consider the following:

• AAFA – American Apparel & Footwear Association
  • https://www.aafaglobal.org/
• EURATEX – European Apparel and Textile Confederation (membership only through a national association which is already a member)
  • https://euratex.eu/
• GFA – Global Fashion Agenda – Global Fashion Agenda is a non-profit organisation that fosters industry collaboration on sustainability in fashion to accelerate impact.
  • https://globalfashionagenda.org/
• Fashion United – Global B@B Fashion Marketplace –
  • https://fashionunited.com/federations
• UKFT – UK Fashion and Textile Association.
  • https://ukft.org/
• Textile Exchange
  • https://textileexchange.org/

Stay informed and attend the sessions to get ahead of the tidal wave of regulation.

Backdoor Trade Restrictions Disguised As Consumer Protection –

Sustainability in the fashion industry is a decade long goal¹³ – and – with protective trade laws being erected in the largest markets such as North America and the EU the textiles imported to these regions are being squeezed out. It is not coincidental that

¹³ Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action. https://unfccc.int/climate-action/sectoral- engagement-for-climate-action/fashion-charter ; FashionCharter@unfccc.int ; During 2018, fashion stakeholders, under the auspices of UN Climate Change, worked to identify ways in which the broader textile, clothing and fashion industry can move towards an holistic commitment to climate action. They created the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, which contains the vision to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action contains a series of principles addressing climate change. These principles go beyond previous industry-wide commitments. The centerpiece of the document consists of a target of 30% GHG emission reductions by 2030 and a commitment to analyze and set a decarbonization pathway for the fashion industry drawing on methodologies from the Science-Based Targets Initiative. These targets, as well as the other principles, are a clear demonstration that fashions leaders are serious about urgently acting on climate change and is keen to set an example to other industrial sectors.

these general regulations on “sustainability” enhancements¹⁴ are also imported textile & fashion killers. Unfortunately, the damage is indiscriminate ignoring the well performing and the not so. It also favors the large, wealth, institutional businesses at the expense of the small overseas entrepreneur.¹⁵

Most nations that do not have a coherent national consensus on industrial policy for textiles & fashion are instead seeing government by government prosecutions which are harnessing consumer laws on fraud and misrepresentation. These prosecutions penalize any party to the textile & fashion transaction who makes “false or misleading claims” about sustainability of the garment or materials sold. These incidents of fraud are commonly referred to as “greenwashing” and this spasm of enforcement is highlighting the intersection of obvious trade protectionism and the aspirational altruistic fashion sustainability goals which the well intended claim to be supporting. (Read more about “Greenwashing” at our library – https://substack.com/@rssimonlaw/p-153532559 ).

Intersection of Sustainability & Nativist Industry Protective Legislation –

The Digital Product Passport (DPP)¹⁶ is a significant EU component, enhancing traceability and potentially relocating textile production back to Europe.¹⁷ The comprehensive approach of the strategy addresses a host of environmental impacts of fashion and supports European clothing manufacturers. Digital product passports will be fully implemented for every product sold in the EU by 2030. The EU will start by prohibiting the destruction of unsold consumer goods as of July 19, 2025. The

¹⁴ “***main goals are to ensure all textile products on the E.U. market are durable, repairable, recyclable, made largely from recycled fibers, free of hazardous substances, and produced respecting social rights. It also aims to educate consumers to pay more for higher quality, make reuse and repair services more profitable, and hold the textiles sector accountable.” Navigating Global Fashion Policy, Mizrachi, M.P. (2024-12-23) https://doi.org/10.20935/AcadEnvSci7452 ¹⁵ It should be predictable that the smallest foreign enterprise in textiles will be shut out of the EU market in the same manner that the same size food producer is currently. It is neo-colonial hubris that skews the regulatory structure to impose so many obstacles to importation of a finished product in food (currently) and textiles (prospectively) that only raw materials are ever eligible for importation from former colonial provinces. South African berries face half the regulations as South African jam made from the same berries. Africa remains a client state of the West through these anti-competitive regulatory structures – regardless of the altruistic justifications pinned to them.

¹⁶ The DPP is part of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which is an initiative of the Circular Economy Action Plan. The Circular Economy Action Plan is a policy under the EU Green Deal, which aims to make the EU carbon neutral by 2050.

¹⁷ The DPP is a digital file that contains information about a product’s life, including:

• Where it comes from;
• The materials used;
• Its environmental impact;
• How to dispose of it;
• Energy efficiency; and
• Repair options.

European Commission is required to define the Digital Product Passport standards for the implementing regulations in 2025.

Consider the European Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition [Directive (EU) 2024/825]; The Anti-Greenwashing Directive, this regulation establishes new requirements for environmental claims about products, ensuring that consumers receive reliable, comparable, and verifiable information.¹⁸ The European Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECD)¹⁹ is a law that aims over time to protect consumers from misleading information about a product’s environmental, social, or circularity aspects.²⁰ The ECD entered into force on March 26, 2024, and member states must apply it by September 27, 2026.²¹ The ECD amends the Consumer Rights Directive²² and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive²³ to require several material changes in business operating procedures ²⁴ such as the placement of a “Sustainability Label” on any “green” products.²⁵

Businesses should review their internal processes for making environmental claims and sustainability labelling if selling into the EU. Also, consider whether the statements made to consumers are unfair or misleading. Prohibited are any “generic environmental claim” which is an environmental claim lacking clarity and specification on the medium where it is made. The only “green” claims allowed inside the EU are those that refer to recognized excellent environmental performance which can be shown by compliance

¹⁸ The Green Deal is one of the most ambitious policies of the EU which aims to make the bloc “go green” by the year 2050. The law involves holistic cross-sectional policy structures that can align all industries from manufacturing to finance to ensure that each industry is well aligned to make the EU sustainability goals. The law aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and intends to create a cost-effective and socially fair green transition for the industries currently operating EU.

¹⁹ The approval of Directive (EU) 2024/825 of the European Parliament and Council, dated February 28, 2024 modifies Directives 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU, focusing on empowering consumers for the green transition through better protection against unfair practices and more accurate information about the consumer goods sold there.

²⁰ Aspects of “circularity” include durability, reparability or recyclability; Aspects of environmental or climate-related claims relate to carbon or climate neutrality. Other covered claims focus on the social aspects of the products which include labor conditions, workplace safety, respect for human rights, and gender equality by the manufacturer.

²¹ The Directive must be transposed by each EU member state into national law by March 27, 2026, and applied by same from September 27, 2026.

²² Directive 2011/83/EU

²³ The ECD will operate alongside the Green Claims Directive (GCD), which will create a specialized regime to govern environmental claims, and is currently in the early stages of the legislative process.

²⁴ Directive 2005/29/EC.

²⁵ There must be clear and relevant information supporting any product’s environmental or social claims. Further, producers must ensure consumers have better information about a product’s durability and repairability identifying components of a product that when replaced allow for the proper function of the product.

with relevant EU laws.²⁶ For example, do not get entangled – If there is an environmentally friendly delivery option then these options should be identified as such with particular care being taken to not overstate the environmental consequences of such delivery option in the specific instance of the consumer transaction. There are more relevant examples found in a review of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector.²⁷

AGOA Pathway Around USA Textile & Fashion Restrictive Regulations –

The EU, for 2025, is going to become a minefield for all African exporters except the largest, most prepared, and best financed to implement measures. The bright spot on this horizon of restrictive regulation for the remaining African exporters is in the United States markets where the 25 year-old African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)²⁸ continues to prop-up the reformation of African textile & fashion industries with tariff-free imports. AGOA provides qualifying countries with duty-free market access for these textiles & fashion garments, provided that exporters show adherence with the Rules of Origin (RoO) and the more general administrative requirements of AGOA such as providing the textiles “certificate of origin.” As of 2023 there were 25 of the 35 AGOA beneficiary countries participating in the tariff-free program which required the countries have adopted laws to implement the “Apparel Visa System” (AVS). The AVS is the mechanism through which the certificate of origin is collected, the RoO compliance is assured, and the content of the apparel inputs is monitored and measured for metrics including the quantity of locally sourced content, the point of origin, and the tariff categories of the textiles and garments made from these fabrics.²⁹ The AVS intends to prevent trade deflection and transhipment, whereby goods made elsewhere (China & India) are merely routed through a beneficiary country (of trade preferences) with no or insufficient local value-adding activities having taken place.

South African textile & fashion producers, thanks to AGOA, are the best positioned producers and exporters into the US market (replacing China and India) as a result of the waiver of global restrictive regulatory structures. However, South Africa, since 2014

²⁶ https://www.sidley.com/en/insights/newsupdates/2024/04/new-eu-directive-strengthens- consumer-protection-laws-on-greenwashing-and- circularity#:~:text=On%20March%2026%2C%202024%2C%20the,of%20the%20GCD%20pr oposal%20here).

²⁷ November 2017 – Establishing “Responsible Business Conduct” in the fashion industry. Adopted by 48 national governments, the manufacturer must adopt policies, identify harms, prevent or mitigate harm, track performance of goals, communicate with self & vendors, and act on remediation of failures. These goals are progressively being harmonized across the member nations. International investment agreements increasingly include language requiring sustainable development. Participants engaged in due diligence are encouraged to focus on prevention measures first.

²⁸ https://agoa.info/about-agoa/kb/article/16163-what-are-some-of-the-specifics-of-the-rules- of-origin-under-agoa.html

²⁹ https://agoa.info/about-agoa/apparel-rules-of-origin.html

has seen the collapse of commercial scale finished textile & fashion export capacity. There is a complete depletion of the indigenous fiber growing and processing supply chain for wool, cotton, even synthetics. Almost everything currently exported and labelled “Made in South Africa” is made using imported fiber, yarn, or fabric (even wool). Should fiber supply capacity return to South Africa through focused industrial policies and supportive financing, then it must be met by and be matched by production capacity increases. Only South Africa, with action on such rehabilitation of textiles industrial policies, will be positioned by the end of 2025 to leverage the AGOA status to replace US imports of textiles & fashion now coming from impaired countries such as China and India. The provincial legislatures which want the jobs and investment must act to meet the moment rather than wait for the Government of National Unity (GNU) to do something.

The US textile and apparel industry is one of the most significant sectors of the US manufacturing industry. According to the National Council of Textile Organizations, the

U.S. textile industry employed over 500,000 people and had shipments totalling $64.8 billion in 2023. The US is the second largest exporter of textile-related products in the world, with over $29 billion in exports in 2021. In recent years, US companies have focused on reorienting their businesses, finding more effective work processes, investing in niche products and markets, controlling costs through advanced technologies, and reshoring/nearshoring production. Protectionist measures are piling on and may well continue with the 2025 commencement of the Trump Administration which is a practiced and professed protectionist cabal. The outlook for exporters to the US who are not in AGOA protected status is very dim.³⁰

Predictions for the Next Four Years –

Industrial Policy of the US will be the global driver of textiles and fashion economics in every EU and BRICS country in 2025. The next four years may be more challenging than the 2017-2021 years of the first Trump Administration. Each manufacturer needs to takes steps to insulate themselves from that future – starting with opening US based offices and finishing facilities³¹ as soon as possible in 2025. There is little time to delay since the immigration visas and processing capacity at USCIS will quickly be absorbed by other foreign competitors.

“America First” is not a new idea and it is not an idea that will diminish in popular appeal anytime soon – with or without Trump or Trumpism – South African business must be prepared for this future.

³⁰ https://ncto.org/2024-state-of-the-u-s-textile-industry-address/

³¹ Cut, Make, Trim (“CMT”) for garments, and other value added processes for rolled textiles (i.e., coatings).

“The idea that the US government should engage in industrial policy stretches right back to the days of American independence. In 1791 Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury, approached Congress with a report – the Report on the Subject of Manufactures – that outlined a strategy to develop the US manufacturing sector. Its goals were to catch up with Britain and build the material base for a powerful military. The report consisted of 11 principles, including direct government subsidies to targeted industries, protective tariffs, government procurement contracts, tax exemptions for manufacturing inputs and support for infrastructure improvements.

Hamilton concluded his report by detailing sector-specific policies for major US manufacturing sectors, including copper, iron, cotton, grain, glass, gun powder and books. The report’s main ideas were introduced gradually over subsequent decades.”³²

The US in 2009 had an industrial policy which valued high-tech and knowledge intensive industries. US policy capitalized on its engineering and scientific resources to produce a continuous stream of new high-tech products and services, including ’green energy’ technologies. Foundational policy principals were that the policy and incentives tied to the policy were intended to strengthen US exports, solve pertinent climate change issues and expand domestic employment. Maintaining and extending the US’ international leadership in high-tech and knowledge intensive industries, such as health, the environment and energy, was the industrial policy priority of the Obama administration.

In 2024, the Trump and more generally Republican political campaigns demonstrated at the polls that the majority of the voting population did not see the benefits of the Obama era knowledge intensive industry boom. Similarly, the Biden era jobs creation miracle, adding 14.6 million new jobs in the post-COVID recovery, reflected a 10.3% increase in overall employment but not in the sectors that mattered to the voting majority.³³ Despite the historic rise in wages for salary and hourly workers (caused in part by State specific increases in Minium Wage Laws) it was the price of “bacon” that the social media sources attribute to the disaffection with the Democrats’ Industrial Policy thus the political candidates across the ballots.³⁴ The 2025 Trump version of his industrial policy will be a rehash of his 2017 efforts by all predictions.³⁵ If rolled out by the docile Republican led Congress, as advertised, in the first 100 days then South

³² https://www.civitas.org.uk/content/files/IndustrialpolicyintheUnitedStates.pdf

³³ https://econofact.org/factbrief/were-more-jobs-added-under-biden-than-in-the-first-three- years-of-any-president

³⁴ Donald Trump was the first Republican President since 2004 (George W. Bush 2^nd term) to win the popular vote and the electoral college vote. https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/4976301-when-was-the-last-time-the- republican-party-won-the-popular-vote/

³⁵ https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/trump-defective-industrial-policy-by-dani- rodrik-2017-01

African businesses must expect textiles & fashion imported into the US to become prohibitively expensive except for the products from AGOA countries.³⁶

President Donald Trump supported AGOA during his first term, as a component of his African Strategy, and is reasonably expected to do so again. But, Trump’s recent pledge to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico—the United States’ two largest trade partners—coupled with threats of 100% tariffs on BRICS countries³⁷ underscores the element of uncertainty about his intent once in office for a second time.³⁸ AGOA’s likely reauthorization under a second Trump administration relies in its mathematically inconsequential total role in the US trade picture; and the announced Trump administration plans to expand trade in critical minerals (i.e., rare earth metals) found in Africa. The Trump pronounced policy need for the United States to reduce its reliance on importing critical minerals from China and Russia, upon whom it relies for 80% of these imports gives AGOA hope of reauthorization. AGOA beneficiaries are many which boast of some of the world’s largest reserves of copper, platinum, cobalt, lithium, nickel, manganese and graphite.³⁹ Trump’s America wants those minerals.

The critical minerals quest may well save AGOA reauthorization from a threatened Republican led legislative defeat. But the last 18 months of South African international actions as a BRICS founder and enfant terrible ⁴⁰ of Middle East politics are certain to bake into the legislative cake one form or another of punishment from Trump and the Republicans. Punishment threats are real. ⁴¹ It happened to South Africa with chicken parts in 2015 where the Republican controlled Congress threatened the AGOA status of South Africa if she did not concede on US dumping of excessively brine soaked frozen

³⁶ The AGOA program is set to expire in September 2025, which re-authorization is viewed by textile professionals as a pivotal moment for Africa in the textile revival. AGOA-based exports to the United States have fallen from a high of $66 billion in 2008 to $9.3 billion in 2023.

³⁷ Which include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

³⁸ Changes to AGOA can also be weaponized and aimed at punishing AGOA beneficiaries who are viewed as undermining American interests by the Trump Administration. For example, in 2018, the Trump Administration suspended Rwanda from exporting clothes to the United States duty-free following the latter’s decision to ban the import of second-hand clothes.

³⁹ https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/06/why-investing-in-innovation-is-essential-to- securing-critical-minerals/

⁴⁰ A French phrase that literally translates to “terrifying child” used to describe someone who is unconventional, blunt, or shocking in their behavior.

⁴¹ In 2015, the AGOA renewal negotiations included an agreement to allow an annual quota of US bone-in chicken to be imported without anti-dumping duties. Now, South Africa allows duty-free imports of chicken from the US as part of the AGOA agreement. Local producers have complained about cheap imports from overseas firms. The South African Poultry Association (Sapa) has said that small producers would be hardest hit. US lawmakers have requested to move the next AGOA Summit out of South Africa as a first form of punishment, which could signal the plan to have South Africa excluded from the agreement privileges in some form or degree. This result could cause a significant rise in local chicken prices as well as crater the 2030 National Development Plan.

chicken into South Africa.⁴² There is no reason to think that similar threats will cease in 2025 when the heavier baton of “reauthorization” is in Republican hands.⁴³ South Africa while under the Government of National Unity (GNU) must seriously re-evaluate its refusal to align its foreign policy to complement that of the Trump Administration. Unlike Biden, this US Administration will overtly and without diplomatic nicety penalize “publicly expressed dissent” from otherwise sovereign nations. The South African textile industry cannot afford the penalties of national hubris at this point in its redevelopment.

South Africa Must Act Now To Thrive In 2025 –

Credits, Credit Guarantees, First Loss Assumptions, Tax Abatements, Transportation Assistance, and Workforce re-training bursaries are the tools the textile & fashion industry need now in order to meet the global market opportunity of 2025. The Government of National Unity (GNU), rather than dither, needs to focus on AGOA reauthorization without penalties to South Africa – even if that focus requires the President making a path to the Mar-a-Lago Club, renting a suite next to Elon Musk, waiting his turn for dinner with President Trump, and then bend the knee, kiss the ring, and make the concessions he demands – or South Africa will not rehabilitate its textile & fashion manufacturing in this economic cycle or for generations to come.

South Africa must have the AGOA market available in order to prosper in textiles & fashion without the expense of the European Union regulatory schemes. South African businesses must open branches inside the US in order to secure market presence before AGOA terminates in September 2025. It is possible to keep the export businesses intact during any period of AGOA suspension if South African businesses act promptly to open offices and facilities inside the US in 2025. Make plans today to travel to the US and scout locations and logistics but use caution when describing your activities to the immigration authorities to avoid difficulties (read more at our library – https://substack.com/@rssimonlaw/p-153382879 ). Leaders need to stay in visa compliance while performing these missions.

⁴² In 2015, Congress passed legislation to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through 2025. The legislation, Public Law No: 114-27, amended the Trade Act of 1974 and the AGOA. The extension included an out-of-cycle review of South Africa’s eligibility for AGOA benefits. https://agoa.info/downloads/south-africa-review-2015.html ⁴³ This threat does not overlook the bi-partisan effort to reauthorize AGOA in the form of

S.4110 sponsored by Chris Coons (D) and James Risch (R) in 2024. The bill did not become law before the end of the last Congress so a new bill must be introduced and proceed through committees to the floor for a vote.