US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a law extending a preferential trade programme for Africa through December 31, effective retroactively from September 30, 2025, the chief US trade negotiator said. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said his office would work with Congress this year to update the programme to provide more market access for US businesses, farmers and ranchers, and to align with Trump's America First trade policy. The African Growth and Opportunity Act, first enacted in 2000 to provide duty-free access to the US market for eligible Sub-Saharan African countries covering more than 1 800 products, expired in September, putting at risk hundreds of thousands of African jobs.