The United States President Barack Obama on Thursday added South Sudan to a programme that gives it further trade privileges.

The newest nation on earth, which gained its independence in July 2011, is now eligible for benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) after determining that it now satisfies the eligibility criteria.Under U.S. law the president has the power to determine which countries in sub-Sahara Africa can join the program after performing an annual evaluation process.According to the U.S. Trade Representative website, AGOA was established in 2000 to provide eligible sub-Saharan African countries to export a wide variety of products to U.S. markets duty free including apparel, footwear, and some agricultural and processed food products.Last March Obama designated South Sudan as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) which allows preferential duty-free entry for up to 4,800 products from 129 designated beneficiary countries and territories.AGOA designation now gives South Sudan an opportunity to export more products than is available under GSP. It also allows access to US credit and expertise."In the face of many challenges, South Sudan has made measurable progress since becoming an independent nation in July 2011,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement.