Angola joined the World Trade Organization in 1996.   

Angola benefits from African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), the U.S. preferential trade agreement that provides duty-free status for qualifying goods exported from Angola to the United States.  Given Angola’s dominance in extractive industries, exports benefiting from this U.S. government program are predominately oil, with some diamonds and wood exports.  The Angolan Government is working to diversify its economy and recently established an export promotion agency, AIPEX to encourage exports, including to the United States, that could take advantage of AGOA.

At a regional level, Angola is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), but it is not party to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) that involves 5 of the 15 SADC member countries with the objective of reducing trade barriers among countries in the region.  Angola has taken steps to examine potential participation in the future.

Angola joined the World Trade Organization and signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which went into effect on May 30, 2019. Angola has also discussed pursuing customs agreements with its neighboring countries of Namibia, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.