SA could breach eligibility requirements of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) if the country proceeds with plans to implement land appropriation without compensation, trade union Solidarity has warned. In terms of section 104 of the act, the sub-Saharan African countries eligible for Agoa have to commit to protecting private property rights. Agoa, which came into effect in May 2000, provides trade preferences for quotas and duty-free entry to the US for certain goods. Solidarity deputy general secretary for metals and engineering Marius Croucamp said the mooted policy changes on land expropriation threatened thousands of jobs and hundreds of companies. Initially approved for 15 years in 2015, the US government has extended Agoa for another 10 years until September 2025. ANC head of economic transformation Enoch Godongwana dismissed Croucamp’s allegations that expropriation without compensation posed a risk to private property rights.

"There is a distinction between...

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