ESWATINI · US TRADE
Key Facts
- The country Eswatini is a small landlocked kingdom between South Africa and Mozambique, ruled by King Mswati III.
- Why it matters Duty-free US access covers eligible goods, yet US buyers take under 1% of Eswatini’s 2026 exports.
- What happened AGOA, the US duty-free trade program, now runs to 31 December 2028; Eswatini is on the 2026 list.
- What it means for you US apparel importers can plan Eswatini orders against duty-free entry to 2028, if the kingdom stays eligible.
- Still open The 2027 list is not yet out, and no public data show how much apparel reaches the US.
In Plain English
AGOA is the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a US law enacted in 2000 that lets eligible sub-Saharan countries sell goods to the United States with duty-free treatment. The US government must review every year which countries still qualify.
The Central Bank of Eswatini is the kingdom’s monetary authority and publishes its trade data, and the US Census Bureau is the federal agency that counts goods crossing the US border. Background on the kingdom is in Eswatini Explained 2026.
Eswatini’s exporters keep duty-free entry to the US market for eligible goods through 31 December 2028, and the kingdom is one of 33 sub-Saharan countries on the US list for 2026. The access comes from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which Congress extended in a law approved on Wednesday 2 September 2026.
For American buyers the gain is certainty on duties rather than volume, because the US bought only US$25.2 million of goods from Eswatini in 2025 while selling it US$44.2 million. Those are the US Census Bureau’s figures, and they leave the United States with a goods surplus of US$19.0 million with the kingdom.
What the Law Now Says
The extension is Section 2008 of Public Law 119-103, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, which was approved on 2 September 2026. A notice from the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, the US interagency panel that administers apparel import limits, confirms that preferential treatment now runs through 31 December 2028.
The program had a rough year, because it lapsed on 30 September 2025 and was restored retroactively by a law signed on Tuesday 3 February 2026, but only through 31 December 2026. The new law removes that cliff and gives exporters more than two years of fixed duty rules.
Eswatini is item 11 in the list of 33 beneficiary countries that the President designated for 2026, according to a June notice from the Office of the US Trade Representative. The same notice opened the annual review for 2027, which weighs a market-based economy, the rule of law and protection of internationally recognized worker rights.
A public hearing for that review was scheduled for Thursday 23 July 2026 in Washington. The notice adds that the President must monitor and review each country’s progress every year, so the list can change.
What the Trade Numbers Show
US goods exports to Eswatini were US$44.2 million in 2025 and US$46.1 million in 2024, while US imports from the kingdom were US$25.2 million and US$22.6 million. In January to August 2026 the US sold US$29.2 million and bought US$11.7 million, so imports are up about 36% on the US$8.6 million of the same months of 2025.
Monthly purchases are small and uneven, and in 2025 they ranged from US$0.3 million in March to US$12.6 million in November. The latest month, August 2026, shows US$1.4 million of imports from Eswatini against US$2.2 million of US exports.
Set against the kingdom’s total goods exports of E31.6 billion (US$1.95 billion) in January to September 2026, US purchases of US$11.7 million in January to August are well under 1%. The figures come from the Central Bank of Eswatini’s release of 20 October 2026, which gives E16.22 per US$ as the September 2026 average rate used for every conversion here.
What Eswatini Actually Sells
South Africa took 72.7% of Eswatini’s exports in September 2026, and four products made up 84.0% of the total. Soft drink concentrates led with E1.8 billion (about US$111 million), followed by sugar and sugar products at E1.0 billion (US$61.7 million), textiles and apparel at E402.6 million (US$24.8 million) and wood at E272.5 million (US$16.8 million).
Textile and apparel shipments rose 27.4% from August and 9.7% from September 2025, driven by knitted and non-knitted apparel. Neither the central bank release nor the US Census table says how much of that apparel went to the United States, so the size of the AGOA effect cannot be measured from public totals.
What It Means for You
US apparel buyers and importers can plan Eswatini orders against duty-free entry until 31 December 2028, provided the goods meet the program’s origin rules and the kingdom stays on the list. The textile committee’s notice sets the cap on duty-free apparel made from regional and third-country fabric at 1,690,799,016 square meters equivalent for the year that began on Thursday 1 October 2026.
Investors and lenders get a clearer horizon for the kingdom’s garment makers, but the data show a market where the US is a minor customer and South Africa matters far more to earnings. The kingdom’s wider growth outlook is covered in Eswatini Growth Forecast Falls to 3.7%, and a neighboring AGOA user is profiled in Lesotho Economy Gets a Reprieve as AGOA Runs to 2028.
What Is Not Known
The President’s list of beneficiary countries for 2027 has not been published in the documents reviewed, so Eswatini’s place on it is not yet confirmed. The annual review looks at worker rights and the rule of law, among other criteria, and its outcome is not public.
The share of Eswatini’s apparel that goes to the United States is not published in the central bank release or in the Census country table. The effect of any other US tariffs on Eswatini goods sits outside the AGOA documents and is not measured here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Eswatini part of AGOA?
Yes, Eswatini is on the list of 33 sub-Saharan countries the US designated as beneficiaries for 2026. The list is reviewed every year.
Until when does AGOA run?
AGOA runs to 31 December 2028 under Public Law 119-103, approved on 2 September 2026. An earlier law had carried it only to 31 December 2026.
How much does the US buy from Eswatini?
US imports from Eswatini were US$25.2 million in 2025 and US$11.7 million in January to August 2026. US exports to Eswatini were US$44.2 million in 2025.
What does Eswatini export most?
Soft drink concentrates are the leading export, followed by sugar, textiles and apparel, and wood. Together these four made up 84.0% of exports in September 2026.
Sources: Office of the US Trade Representative, AGOA annual review notice for 2027, Federal Register, 30 June 2026; Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, apparel limits notice, Federal Register, 18 September 2026; Public Law 119-103, Section 2008, approved 2 September 2026; Office of the US Trade Representative, AGOA modernization notice, Federal Register, 29 April 2026; US Census Bureau, Trade in Goods with Eswatini, data to August 2026; Central Bank of Eswatini, Recent Economic Developments August/September 2026, 20 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error