The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) took effect in January 2001, expanding the scope of preferential access by Africa's exports to the United States. The Act was expressly designed to support efforts to embrace economic and political reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Early observations show that AGOA has not yet increased the trade flows from eligible countries to the US. SSA continues to occupy a marginal place in US imports at less than 2% of the total. Most of the benefits have gone to oil exporters. Benefits to the clothing industry are also limited. Designed on the basis of a temporary comparative advantage with an annual renewal, AGOA appears unlikely to achieve its objective of increasing foreign direct investment in eligible countries.