JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's government on Tuesday welcomed the ‍approval by ‍the U.S. House of Representatives of ​a bill that would renew Washington's preferential ⁠trade programme for Africa for another three ⁠years.

The African Growth ‌and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a law first enacted in 2000 to provide ⁠duty-free access to the U.S. market for eligible Sub-Saharan countries and products, expired in September and hundreds of thousands ⁠of African jobs ​are estimated to depend on it.

South Africa's trade minister Parks ‍Tau said in a statement that renewing AGOA ​would "provide certainty and predictability for African and American businesses that rely on the programme".

He added that Africa's biggest economy was still negotiating with the U.S. over a bilateral trade deal, even though relations with Washington have soured badly during President Donald Trump's ⁠second term in office.

The ‌bill to extend AGOA will next go to the Senate before going ‌to Trump ⁠for his consideration.