Written By Gerald Gekara | |
Ethiopia alongside Mali and Guinea have been banned from a US-Africa trade pact, according to President Joe Biden’s administration.
The United States Government cited their conduct breached the agreement’s standards on trade opportunities.
The US Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement on Saturday that “the United States today removed Ethiopia, Mali, and Guinea from the AGOA trade preference program due to actions taken by each of their governments in violation of the AGOA Statute.”
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was enacted in 2000 by former President Bill Clinton’s administration to encourage and regulate trade between the US and Africa.
It also expressed worry about “grave abuses of internationally recognized human rights committed by the Ethiopian government and other parties amid the escalating violence in northern Ethiopia.”
The USTR stated, “Each country has defined milestones for a pathway toward reinstatement, and the administration will cooperate with their governments to achieve that goal.”
Thousands of African items can benefit from lower import tariffs under the AGOA agreement, provided that certain standards are met in terms of human rights, good governance, and worker protection, as well as not imposing a customs restriction on American products on their territory.
Email: uzalendonews24@gmail.com to submit your story.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
