President Joe Biden's administration said on Saturday that the actions of the three governments in the US-Africa trade agreement have violated its principles, and that Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea have been excluded from the US-Africa trade agreement.
The United States has terminated Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea from the AGOA trade preference program because of actions taken by each of their governments in violation of the AGOA Statute, the US Trade Representative USTR said in a statement.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act AGOA was put in place in 2000 under the administration of former President Bill Clinton to regulate trade between the United States and Africa.
The statement said that the United States is deeply concerned by the unconstitutional change in governments in both Guinea and Mali.
It expressed concern about gross violations of internationally recognized human rights being perpetrated by the government of Ethiopia and other parties amid the widening conflict in northern Ethiopia. Each country has clear benchmarks for a path to reinstatement and the administration will work with their governments to achieve that goal, the USTR said.
According to the AGOA agreement, thousands of African products can benefit from reduced import taxes, subject to conditions being met regarding human rights, good governance and worker protection, as well as not applying a customs ban on American products on their territory.
By 2020, 38 countries were eligible for AGOA, according to the USTR website.
The agreement was modernized by the US Congress in 2015, which extended the program until 2025.