Jan 2 (Reuters) – The United States withdrew Burkina Faso from its AGOA trade preference program citing deep concerns about the “unconstitutional change” in the West African country’s government, the office of the US Trade Representative said on Sunday ( USTR).
Frustrations over the government’s inability to curb an Islamist insurgency sparked two military coups in Burkina Faso in 2022. Both the former and current junta have made efforts to tighten security, but Islamist attacks continue.
The junta’s Foreign Ministry reacted Monday to the US decision by repeating a November statement that said the timetable for a return to democracy had not changed.
Burkina Faso had pledged to return to constitutional status in 24 months in a July agreement with the West African regional bloc ECOWAS.
The U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides sub-Saharan African nations with tax-free access to the United States if they meet certain eligibility requirements, such as removing barriers to US trade and investment and move toward political pluralism.
The USTR office said Burkina Faso had not met the requirements of the AGOA statute and would be given “clear benchmarks” for a path toward re-entry into the trade program, adding that Washington would work with the government of Burkina Faso.
Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. Militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have killed thousands of civilians there, creating one of the fastest growing humanitarian crises in Africa.
Nearly 2 million people have been displaced and are residing in makeshift camps, many run by the United Nations, that dot the arid countryside.
Just before Christmas, Burkina Faso’s military government ordered a senior United Nations official to leave the country, a decision that was contested by the UN.
Although the government did not give a reason at the time, its foreign minister later accused the official, Bárbara Manzi, of painting a negative picture of the security situation in the country.
Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Thiam Ndiaga in Ouagadougou; Edited by Estelle Shirbon
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
