US President terminates AGOA preferences for Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea
U.S. President Joe Biden announced yesterday that he has “determined that Ethiopia, Guinea, and Mali do not meet” the AGOA requirements described in section 506A(a)(1) and has proceeded to “terminate the designation of the three countries as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries …effective January 1, 2022.”
On November 21, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs lamented the impending decision by the U.S. to remove Ethiopia from AGOA privileges and called it “misguided and fails to take into account the commitment of the Government of the United States to value the wellbeing of ordinary citizens.”
Ethiopia argued the decision would also affect “the livelihoods of more than 200.000 low-income families mostly, women who have got nothing to do with the conflict.”
Ethiopia’s statement camea day after the U.S. President Joe Biden has informed the Congress of his decision to revoke Ethiopia’s AGOA privileges as of January 01/2022 and that he will continue “to assess whether the government [of Ethiopia is] making continual progress toward meeting the AGOA eligibility requirements.”
Biden’s decision also came despite last minute efforts from U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.) urging the President “to reconsider his Administration’s” decision. “While we absolutely condemn the human rights abuses that have taken place on both sides of this conflict, we are concerned that suspension of AGOA benefits will be counterproductive and disproportionately harm the most vulnerable Ethiopians without contributing to the cessation of hostilities,” the joint statement reads.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai first warned Ethiopia of the possibility of losing its access to AGOA privileges at a virtual meeting she held with Mamo Mihretu, Ethiopia’s Senior Policy Advisor and Chief Trade Negotiator and “raised the ongoing violations of internationally recognized human rights amid the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia, which could affect Ethiopia’s future African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) eligibility if unaddressed.”
Read related news articles
** AGOA eligibility review 2023 (for year 2024): Timelines of hearings and request for comments ** [Deadline written submissions 7 July]
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is announcing the initiation of the annual review of the eligibility of sub-Saharan African countries to receive the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The AGOA Implementation Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (AGOA Subcommittee) is requesting written public comments for this review and will conduct a virtual public hearing on this matter. In...
16 May 2023
Cameroon aims to boost export revenues, rejoin AGOA - minister
Cameroon is working to boost export revenues to fend off a potential debt crisis and has relaunched talks with the U.S. to rejoin Washington's flagship trade initiative with Africa, its economy minister said on Monday. The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent global shocks provoked by the war in Ukraine have hit African countries hard, denting economic growth and aggravating their sovereign debt positions. The...
11 April 2023
Somalia pursues AGOA membership to bolster trade
The Somali government officially applied to join the 36 African countries on Thursday, benefiting from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The announcement was made during the Somalia AGOA application ceremony, where outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Somalia, Larry André, highlighted the United States’ commitment to expanding and modernizing partnerships in Africa and Somalia. Ambassador André emphasized that the U.S....
10 April 2023
State Secretary Blinken praises Ethiopia on Tigray peace, no return to trade programme yet
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised Ethiopia on Wednesday for its progress in implementing a peace deal to end the Tigray conflict, but stopped short of ushering the country back into a U.S. trade programme. Visiting Ethiopia to repair relations that were strained by the two-year war in the northern region, Blinken met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and discussed ongoing efforts to solidify peace, restore basic services and address...
13 March 2023
Ethiopia asks US to reinstate AGOA trade benefits as US Secretary of State Blinken heads to Addis, Niger
Ethiopia is asking the Joe Biden administration to reinstate its duty-free access to the US market, arguing that “exceptional circumstances” warrant an immediate re-examination of its suspension just as Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Addis Ababa to discuss the cessation of hostilities in Tigray. The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) terminated Ethiopia’s participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act...
09 March 2023
US to remove Burkina Faso from AGOA effective 1 January 2023: White House
U.S. President Joe Biden revealed on Wednesday his intent to exclude Burkina Faso from a U.S.-Africa trade pact, citing a lack of progress toward protecting the rule of law and political pluralism. Biden said that Washington will terminate Burkina Faso's designation as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), starting January 2023 as it has not met"eligibility requirements." The decision...
02 November 2022
Kenya 'reaps Sh10 billion after Ethiopia's ban from AGOA deal'
Kenya earned an additional Sh10.2 billion from its exports to the US as Nairobi reaped big from Ethiopia’s suspension from a duty-free trade pact. Last year, Kenya’s exports to the US — mostly apparel were valued at Sh59.6 billion, a jump of more than a fifth from Sh49.4 billion in 2020 as Kenyan traders sold more goods through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), a free trade agreement between Washington and select African...
24 May 2022
US Senator requests return of Ethiopia to AGOA
A U.S senator has requested the senate to return Ethiopia to AGOA as it has been progressing in many aspects. U.S. Senator from Virginia Mark Warner said the U.S. should strengthen and improve the trade relationship between Africa specifically Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government has been pending progress in many aspects, especially the ceasefire. The trade relation between Africa specifically with Ethiopia is important. “We do that...
05 April 2022
In Ethiopia, Guinea and Mali, fears rise over losing duty-free access to US market
For Sammy Abdella, the new year has brought bad tidings: the prospect of a steep drop in sales of scarves, rugs, baskets and other textile goods produced by Sammy Handmade in Ethiopia. “The U.S. market is our main destination,” said Abdella, who estimates it accounts for nearly two-thirds of sales for his Addis Ababa-based home decor and fashion company. “So, losing that put us in a very, you know, bad situation.” The source of...
20 January 2022
What does the US decision to delist three African countries from AGOA status imply?
Trade is one highly significant part of Africa’s story. Its pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial transitions are all marked by trade. But for many years, African trade has struggled with several challenges: poor infrastructure, high transaction costs, opportunism and unfriendly policies. So when President Bill Clinton signed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2000, African countries were given a competitive edge by...
11 January 2022
US takes Ethiopia, Mali, Guinea off AGOA program
The United States on Saturday cut Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea from access to a duty-free trade program, following through on President Joe Biden's threat to do so over accusations of human rights violations and recent coups. "The United States today terminated 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 U.S. Trade Representative's...
01 January 2022
