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AGOA lapse triggers full US tariffs on African apparel

With preferences gone, Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariffs now apply at the border. For factories and brands that built Autumn and early Spring orders around AGOA, the change has landed like an overnight cost shock, already visible in re-quotes, shipping holds and recalibrated margin models.

Washington has signalled support in principle for a one-year patch, and lawmakers have explored attaching an extension to broader spending legislation. Timing and scope remain uncertain, meaning any compromise would come only after weeks of disrupted purchase orders and renegotiations. Market participants are budgeting as if MFN rates will persist throughout the order window and treating any retroactive relief as upside rather than a base case.