Guinea, Mali, and Ethiopia removed from US trade programme
US President Joe Biden. The United States government has cut crucial trade ties with Guinea, Mali and Ethiopia over alleged human rights violations and military coups. FILE PHOTO | AFP
Guinea, Mali and Ethiopia were removed from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a duty-free trade programme, according to an announcement by the agency.
The US Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement on Saturday that it terminated the three countries’ membership from AGOA “due to actions taken by each of their governments in violation of the AGOA Statute”.
The move on Saturday marks a fulfilment of a threat by US President Joe Biden in November to remove Ethiopia from the programme over alleged human rights violations in its protracted war in Tigray.
