Faso Dan Fani loincloth made in Burkina Faso. SIA KAMBOU / AFP
The United States will exclude Burkina Faso from the trade deal linking the world’s leading power with African countries, the White House announced on Wednesday, October 2, citing the lack of progress in returning to democracy following the two military coups the country since early 2022.
“I made this decision because I realized that the Government of Burkina Faso has not established respect for the rule of law and political pluralism or made continuous progress in establishing respect for the rule of law and political pluralism,” elements contained in the As part of the AGOA program (African Growth Opportunities Act), American President Joe Biden explained in a letter to the American Congress. The exclusion of the West African country will apply from January 1, 2023, the courier said.
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In a statement, US Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai insisted that “Burkina Faso must make the necessary decisions to meet the terms of the deal and return to democracy.” “I will provide Burkina Faso with a clear roadmap for program resumption, and our administration will work with them to make it happen,” Ms. Tai added.
AGOA, founded in 2000 and whose list of beneficiary countries is revised every year, is building economic and trade cooperation with the African continent. It facilitates African exports to the United States to aid economic development.
Conditions to be met
Under this agreement, thousands of African products can benefit from import tax reductions, but provided that conditions are met, notably related to human rights, good governance or worker protection.
Earlier this year, the United States excluded three other countries, Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea, from the program, in part because it believed the actions of these three governments went against its principles.
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Burkina Faso has faced increasingly frequent jihadist attacks since 2015, killing thousands and forcing some two million people to flee. Burkina Faso has been rocked by two military coups since the beginning of the year.
On January 24, soldiers led by Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who was accused of negligence in the face of attacks before being deposed by Captain Ibrahim Traoré on September 30.
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