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 International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that Cameroon, a Central African oil producer, will record 4.3% economic growth this year after it slumped to 0.5% in 2020.
The Fund has classified Cameroon as being at high risk of debt distress, though in its most recent review of the country's loan programme it stated that, with active fiscal reforms and management, the debt could be sustainable.
"Our debt service coverage from exports needs to be improved. That's the reason why we are ranked in a high risk debt distress position," said Alamine Ousmane Mey, Cameroon's minister of economy, planning and regional development.
He was speaking at an event organised by the Atlantic Council think tank on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank's Spring Meetings in Washington.
"We're working to be able to improve our exports through import substitution policies to reduce imports, produce more and export more. This will give us better room for debt service coverage," he said.
Cameroon has also relaunched talks with the U.S. to end its suspension from the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) initiative, which grants qualifying African countries tariff-free access to the U.S. market.
Former President Donald Trump suspended Cameroon from the programme in late 2019 over "persistent gross violations of internationally recognised human rights" by Cameroonian security forces.
Since 2017, factions of secessionist militias have been battling government troops in the majority Francophone country's two English-speaking regions. The conflict has killed thousands and displaced nearly 800,000 people.
"All the issues that have been raised, we're working on in a very transparent open manner to be able to iron them out and solve the problems," Mey said, referring to the talks with U.S. officials to rejoin AGOA.
View related news articles
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
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
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
Despite a late push, Ethiopia is set to exit the US trade pact
Despite a last-minute drive backed by diaspora members who fear that Washington may lose an ally, Ethiopia is likely to lose important commercial privileges in the United States on January 1 due to human rights concerns. President Joe Biden said on November 2 that Ethiopia, a longtime US ally and the continent’s second most populous country, will be removed from the African Growth and Opportunity Act in the New Year, citing “grave...
30 December 2021
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...
24 December 2021
Senator Van Hollen, Representative Bass urge Biden Administration to reconsider Ethiopia's suspension from AGOA
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.) urged President Biden to reconsider his Administration’s November 2, 2021 decision to terminate Ethiopia’s designation as a beneficiary country under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) at the end of this year. As the lawmakers note in their letter (download a copy at the link alongside), this decision will hurt the nation’s most vulnerable...
23 December 2021
US terminates duty-free trade access to Ethiopia over conflict
Ethiopia’s duty-free export access to the U.S. has been revoked by President Joe Biden due to its failure to meet the requirements, according to the White House. The action comes after 13 months of civil war in the country. Ethiopia is disqualified from participation in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act due to gross violations of human rights, the U.S. Trade Representative said when it notified Ethiopia in November....
23 December 2021
'Ethiopia approaches civil war - but Team Biden should avoid harming AGOA'
As day turns to night in Ethiopia, International crisis negotiators are feverishly working to avoid an all-out civil war. America’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is in nearby Kenya trying to help resolve the crisis. America utilized several pressure tactics to try to bring this outbreak to a resolution but none have worked so far. The latest is to give Ethiopia a 60-day notice of withdrawal from the African Growth...
17 November 2021