The US authorizes a short extension to a longstanding African trade agreement. Here's what to know

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has extended a 26-year-old free-trade agreement with African countries that was left in doubt last year when his administration allowed it to expire while enforcing his policy of reciprocal tariffs.

Trump on Tuesday signed into law an extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

But the extension is short-term, lasting only until Dec. 31. The trade office said the agreement, which gives eligible sub-Saharan African nations duty-free access to the U.S. market for some products, would be modified to account for tariffs the U.S. has imposed on other countries as part of the Republican president’s America First policy.

The agreement is key to many African countries that feared it would be another economic blow following the new tariffs and cuts to U.S. aid under Trump.

Here is what to know.

AGOA was introduced in 2000 under former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Only some nations are eligible, and the U.S. can remove countries that fail to meet requirements including establishing market-based economies or upholding democratic standards and human rights. The East African nation of Uganda was removed in 2024 by the Biden administration for enacting a strict anti-gay law that the U.S. called a human rights violation.

The agreement allows some 1,800 products to be exported to the U.S. duty-free, including crude oil, cars and car parts, clothing, textiles and agricultural produce. It drives much of the trade between the U.S. and Africa, which was valued at more than $100 billion in 2024 by the U.S. trade office.

AGOA included 34 African countries when the Trump administration allowed the expiration at the end of September, with many businesses in those nations claiming the end of the deal would endanger tens of thousands of jobs.

The extension until the end of 2026 is short compared to the 10-year extension agreement when it previously came up for renewal in 2015.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement Tuesday that the Trump administration would work with Congress "to modernize the program to align with President Trump’s America First trade policy” without giving details of possible changes.

South Africa, the continent's most advanced economy and one of the biggest beneficiaries of AGOA, said it welcomed the renewal but was concerned by the short-term nature of the extension. Minister of Trade and Industry Parks Tau told South African news outlet News24 that he hoped the U.S. would soon “provide certainty” of the AGOA details.

The Trump administration has applied political pressure on sub-Saharan Africa's two biggest economies, South Africa and Nigeria, leaving them uncertain where they might fit into a renewed form of the agreement that is highly important to both nations.

Trump has criticized the South African government as anti-American and made baseless claims that a white minority group in the country is being violently persecuted. The U.S. has applied 30% tariffs, among the highest in the world, raising fears that its biggest African trade partner would be removed from AGOA due to the diplomatic fallout.

Similarly, U.S. ties with Nigeria have been strained over Trump’s allegations that Christians are being persecuted in Africa’s most populous country, claims officials say are inaccurate.

Trump's America First policy has been especially hard on Africa by cutting billions of dollars for the now-dismantled United States Aid Agency while imposing tariffs on small or struggling economies. Some African countries such as Lesotho have said the double blow has been almost impossible to bear.

The U.S. has moved to renegotiate assistance methods for Africa, including a series of bilateral health agreements announced in recent months. The pledges of assistance also commit African nations to invest in their own health systems, which the Trump administration says will improve self-sufficiency and cut waste.

The U.S. has called on African nations to remove trade barriers to American imports. The U.S. trade office said AGOA would follow the America First policy and “must demand more from our trading partners.”

The aggressive trade policies have pushed some African nations to enhance ties with other countries or regions, especially China, which is already the continent's largest trading partner.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

FILE - A factory worker arrange garments at United Aryan EPZ Limited in Ruaraka on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya Friday, March. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku, file)

FILE - Workers load a truck with the last boxes filled with clothes from the empty Tzicc clothing factory following the threat of U.S.-imposed tariffs in Maseru, Lesotho, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen, File)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Envoys from Russia and Ukraine met in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for another round of U.S.-brokered talks on ending the almost four-year war, a Ukrainian negotiator said.

The delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were joined in the United Arab Emirates by U.S. officials, Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council chief, who was present at the meeting, said on social media.

Umerov said the planned two-day negotiations started with all three delegations present, after which negotiators were to break into groups according to topics and then meet as a full group again at the end.

The American team was due to include special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who also attended last month’s meeting, according to the White House.

The current talks also coincide with the expiry of the last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States on Thursday. Trump and Putin could extend the terms of the treaty or renegotiate its conditions in an effort to prevent a new nuclear arms race.

Last month’s discussions in the Emirati capital, part of a U.S. push to end the fighting, yielded some progress but no breakthrough on key issues, officials said.

The Abu Dhabi talks were held amid Ukrainian outrage over major Russian attacks on its energy system, which have occurred each winter since Russia launched its all-out invasion of its neighbor on Feb. 24 2022.

A huge Russian bombardment overnight from Monday to Tuesday included hundreds of drones and a record 32 ballistic missiles, wounding at least 10 people. This came despite Ukraine’s understanding that Russian President Vladimir Putin had told Trump he would temporarily halt strikes on Ukraine’s power grid.

Ukrainian civilians are struggling with one of the coldest winters in years, which saw temperatures around minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit).

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov wouldn’t offer any details on the Abu Dhabi talks and said that Moscow wasn’t planning any comment on their results.

He said that “the doors for a peaceful settlement are open,” but noted that Moscow will press its military action until Kyiv meets its demands.

Russia is hitting Ukraine’s energy facilities because its armed forces believe the targets are associated with Kyiv’s military effort, Peskov said.

There has been a lack of clarity about how long Putin had promised to observe a pause on power grid attacks.

Trump said Tuesday at the White House that Putin had agreed to halt strikes for a week, through Feb. 1, and that the Russian leader had kept his word. But Zelenskyy said Tuesday that “barely four days have passed of the week Russia was asked to hold off,” before Ukraine was hit with fresh attacks, suggesting the Ukrainian leader wasn't fully aware of the terms of the Trump-Putin agreement.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was “unfortunately unsurprised” by Moscow’s resumption of attacks.

On Wednesday, more than 200 repair crews were at work in Kyiv to restore power, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said, adding that staff were exhausted and would be rotated. More than 1,100 apartment buildings in the capital were still without heating, Zelenskyy said.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said the developments were part of Moscow’s negotiating strategy.

“The Kremlin will likely attempt to portray its adherence to this short-term energy strikes moratorium as a significant concession to gain leverage in the upcoming peace talks, even though the Kremlin used these few days to stockpile missiles for a larger strike package,” it said late Tuesday.

Russia launched 105 drones against Ukraine overnight, and air defenses shot down 88 of them, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday. Strikes by 17 drones were recorded at 14 locations, as well as falling debris at five sites, it said.

In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, a Russian strike on a residential area killed a 68-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, regional military administration head Oleksandr Hancha said.

The southern city of Odesa also came under a large-scale attack, regional military administration head Oleh Kiper said. About 20 residential buildings were damaged, with four people rescued from under the rubble, he said.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, Russian Multiple rocket launcher TOS-1A fires towards Ukrainian positions on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)