WASHINGTON –Ambassador Katherine Tai today released the following statement on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA):
“Today, President Biden announced three countries will be terminated from the AGOA trade preference program as of January 1, 2022, absent urgent action to meet statutory eligibility criteria. Our Administration is deeply concerned by the unconstitutional change in governments in both Guinea and Mali, and by the gross violations of internationally recognized human rights being perpetrated by the Government of Ethiopia and other parties amid the widening conflict in northern Ethiopia. These countries are set to be removed from this program due to actions taken by their governments in violation of the AGOA Statute. The United States urges these governments to take necessary actions to meet the statutory criteria so we can resume our valued trading partnerships. I will provide each country with clear benchmarks for a pathway toward reinstatement and our Administration will work with them to achieve that objective.”
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