South Africa on Tuesday welcomed the U.S. House of Representatives’ approval of a bill extending the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for three more years, Reuters reported.

AGOA, enacted in 2000, grants eligible Sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the U.S. market. The programme, which expired in September, supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the continent, with estimates suggesting it has directly and indirectly sustained tens of thousands of jobs in South Africa alone, particularly in the automotive and agricultural sectors.

Parks Tau, South Africa’s trade minister, said the extension would "provide certainty and predictability for African and American businesses that rely on the programme," underlining its significance for the country’s largest economy.

South Africa has been one of the largest beneficiaries of AGOA, exporting manufactured goods and agricultural products under the scheme. Analysts have noted that its expiry could have reduced African exports to the U.S. by hundreds of millions of US dollars, highlighting the programme’s economic impact across the region.

The House-approved bill must now pass the Senate before being sent to President Donald Trump for consideration. South Africa continues to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement with the United States, despite strained relations during Trump’s second term, Parks Tau added.