AGOA: Ethiopia on verge of losing access to lucrative US trade program over
President Joe Biden has determined that Ethiopia is out of compliance with the eligibility requirements of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) “for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights,” he said in a message to Congress Tuesday.
The Ethiopian government must take “urgent action” by January 1 in order to remain in the program, which grants eligible sub-Saharan African nations duty-free access to the US market for thousands of products.
The moves come as the conflict in northern Ethiopia nears its grim one-year milestone and millions of Ethiopians risk starvation. There have been repeated calls from the United States and the international community for the parties to the conflict, including the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Eritrean forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), to end hostilities.
“We are urging the government of Ethiopia to take urgent steps by insuring an end to all gross human rights violations, granting unhindered access to international human rights monitors, removing barriers to humanitarian operations,” another senior administration official said. “We are urging all parties to halt military operations that are causing widespread loss of life and threats to civilians and to come to the negotiating table without preconditions.”
Ethiopian government ‘extremely disappointed’
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration said in a statement Tuesday they “are extremely disappointed by the threat of AGOA withdrawal currently under consideration by the US Government.”
“These actions will reverse significant economic gains in our country and unfairly impact and harm women and children,” the statement said.
“Ethiopia will continue to make every effort to correct any unintended or perceived wrongs,” the ministry said, adding, “This decision must be reversed by January 1, 2022 and we urge the United States to support our ongoing efforts to restore peace and the rule of law — not punish our people for confronting an insurgent force that is attempting to bring down our democratically elected government.”
“The Ethiopian government takes all human rights allegations seriously: we are looking at them and conducting investigations and we are committed to ensuring accountability,” they said.
CNN has reported extensively on human rights abuses committed during the conflict, including detentions, acts of sexual violence, and killings that bear the hallmarks of genocide — findings that have contributed to calls from bipartisan lawmakers for the administration to take action.
The CNN investigation also triggered calls by US lawmakers for sanctions and investigations into Ethiopia’s AGOA eligibility. At the time US officials told CNN they would review Ethiopia’s eligibility in 2022, the scheduled review point.
‘Cannot continue ‘business as usual’
US…
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