Ethiopia unhappy as US ends its duty-free access

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The US stopped Ethiopia’s eligibility for the trade benefits despite pleas by a few US legislators and Ethiopian lobby groups who asked the Biden administration to give the country more time to comply with US demands

ETHIOPIA says it is unhappy with the US decision to revoke duty-free access for the East African country’s exports.

The statement by Ethiopia’s trade ministry on Monday came after the Biden administration on December 23 terminated Ethiopia’s eligibility for benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The US cited its disapproval of the war in the Tigray region for the action.

‘The Ethiopian government is saddened over the decision by the US to remove it,’ from the preferential trade benefits, the ministry said. It asked the U.S. to reconsider its decision.

‘Ethiopia is carrying out various initiatives aimed at bringing peace and stability, political consensus and economic development in addition to conducting reforms in line with the longstanding relationship between the two countries,’ the statement said.

The US stopped Ethiopia’s eligibility for the trade benefits despite pleas by a few US legislators and Ethiopian lobby groups who asked the Biden administration to give the country more time to comply with US demands.

The decision against the African nation was made over its failure to end a nearly yearlong war in the Tigray region that has led to ‘gross violations’ of human rights, said the Biden statement. The action also stops Guinea and Mali from receiving the trade benefits as of January 1.

The AGOA provides sub-Saharan African nations duty-free access to the United States on the condition they meet certain requirements, including eliminating barriers to US trade and investment and making progress toward political pluralism.

The US and the United Nations say Ethiopian authorities have prevented trucks from delivering desperately needed food and other aid into Tigray. Scores of people have starved to death, The Associated Press has reported.

In September Biden warned that his administration would levy sanctions if Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed did not take steps to wind down the war in Tigray and other regions.

On November 3, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry labelled the move as ‘misguided’ and ‘unjustified intimidation’ and said the decision could affect the livelihoods of more than 200,000 low-income Ethiopians who work for companies that benefit from the preferential trade access.

Some Ethiopian companies are already showing signs of a downturn in their export business.