Though Malawi has made progress using the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), a report has shown that Malawi does not use the initiative to its fullest capacity.

The US Trade and Investment with sub-Saharan Africa: Recent Developments Report indicates that Malawi high-priority industries and products include the agricultural and food processing, textile, apparel, footwear and leather products and jewellery.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA (Title I, Trade and Development Act of 2000; P.L. 106–200) is a piece of legislation that was approved by the U.S. Congress in May 2000. The purpose of this legislation is to assist the economies of sub-Saharan Africa and to improve economic relations between the United States and the region. After completing its initial 15-year period of validity, the AGOA legislation was extended on 29 June 2015 by a further 10 years, to 2025.