The South African Poultry Association’s legal challenge targets a US poultry tariff quota linked to AGOA, raising questions over trade access, dumping claims and sector protection.
Poultry Dispute Moves to Court
South Africa’s poultry sector is heading into a legal battle over a long-standing import quota that allows tens of thousands of tons of US chicken into the country without anti-dumping duties.
The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) has taken Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to court over the annual tariff rate quota linked to the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
A Quota Linked to AGOA
The dispute centers on an annual quota of around 72,000 tons to 74,000 tons of US chicken imports. The arrangement allows bone-in chicken from the US to enter South Africa without anti-dumping duties, although a most favored nation tariff still applies.
The quota was introduced as part of AGOA-related negotiations, with reporting stating that it began at 65,000 tonnes in 2016 and rose to just under 74,000 tonnes for 2025, according to the South African Revenue Service and The American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa.
SAPA Argues Material Harm
SAPA argues that the quota should have fallen away after the US imposed reciprocal tariffs on South African imports. Izaak Breitenbach, CEO of SAPA’s Broiler Organisation, said: “According to the original agreements, the rebate is supposed to fall away if South Africa loses any AGOA privileges, for instance if the US imposes tariffs on South African imports.”
He added: “[Tau], however, has allowed the rebate to continue without consulting us, despite findings by [the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa] that these imports amount to dumping and are doing material harm to the local poultry industry.”
Government Opposes the Case
The matter has been filed in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, with the government opposing the application. Tau’s spokesperson, Kaamil Alli, said: “The AGOA extension has rendered the point raised by the association moot. We are in consultation with the US and are working on a resolution of this particular point.”
Breitenbach said the application aims to obtain a court order forcing the minister to remove the tariff rebate that allows the poultry quota to enter without anti-dumping duty. He said: “The International Trade Administration Commission in awarding this duty [caused] material harm to the industry that we would like to stop. This also inhibits our ability to supply reasonably priced chicken meat to our consumers.”
Underused Import Allocation
The case comes as the quota remains underutilized. In 2023, US poultry shipments under the quota reached 28,131 tons. In 2024, this fell to 5,956 tons, before rising to 12,251 tons, or 17% of the quota, in 2025.
Even if fully used, the 72,000-tonne quota would represent less than 4% of local production and 3% of domestic consumption, based on available 2024 production and consumption data.
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