Some observers worry that it will be difficult for North African countries that have authoritarian regimes to be able to meet these criteria. Last year, the only African countries that received lower democracy scores were the Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Eritrea. AGOA eligibility criteria have not been defined using objective criteria: “There are no benchmark indices. Examples include Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, and Niger. Should the rules of origin be expanded, North African countries will need to constantly mitigate against this risk of politicization in order to realize the full potential of participation in the expanded rules of origin.
