US removes Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea from duty-free trade programme over alleged rights violations and recent coups. The United States has cut Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea out of a duty-free trade programme over alleged human rights violations and recent coups. The AGOA trade legislation provides sub-Saharan African nations with duty-free access to the US if they meet certain eligibility requirements, such as eliminating barriers to US trade and investment and making progress towards political pluralism. In its Saturday statement, the USTR said Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea may still rejoin the pact if they met the statute’s provisions. US President Joe Biden had announced in November that Ethiopia would be cut off from the duty-free trading scheme provided under AGOA due to alleged human rights violations in the country’s north.

Source: Ethiopian News January 02, 2022 04:55 UTC