For not meeting the requirements of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA statute, Burkina Faso has been exempted from AGOA trade by the United States of America.
This news came on Sunday, January 1, New Year’s Day, from the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).
According to US trade representatives, the requirement of the AGOA statue is mainly focused on strengthening its trade relationship with sub-Saharan African countries and therefore must operate within certain guidelines.
“To meet AGOA’s rigorous eligibility requirements, countries must establish or make continuous progress toward establishing an economy based on the market, the rule of law, political pluralism and the right to due process In addition, countries must remove barriers to US trade and investment, enact policies to reduce poverty, fight corruption and protect human rights. according to the office of the US trade representatives.
Currently, 35 of the 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are eligible for AGOA benefits. This initiative allows eligible sub-Saharan countries to conduct duty-free transactions with the US market for more than 1,800 products.
Unfortunately, Burkina Faso, which is one of the poorest African nations, has been exempted from this group due to hostilities in its homeland.
Last month, the country’s military government ordered a senior United Nations official to leave the country, citing defamation as the reason for the apparently unprovoked exile. The country’s government pointed out that the official in question, Barbara Manzi, was making concerted efforts to paint the country’s security in a bad light.
Last year, the country experienced two coups, which caused the displacement of more than 2,000,000 of its citizens. These types of events create a compilation for free-flowing business conduct.
However, the current US administration has shown some concern and has pledged to provide “clear benchmarks” for a path towards Burkina Faso’s re-entry into the trade program.
However, an unconstitutional change in the government of Burkina Faso is still an idea that deeply worries the US government.
