The United States has finalised plans to delist Burkina Faso from a trade deal that offers exporters in Africa tariff-free access to the American market, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Speaking on Wednesday, President Joe Biden cited Burkina Faso’s lack of progress towards “protecting of the rule of law and political pluralism” for terminating the country as a beneficiary of AGOA.
“Accordingly, I intend to terminate the designation of Burkina Faso as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country under the Agoa, effective January 1, 2023,” he said.
In a statement released on Tuesday, US trade representative Katherine Tai said the US was “deeply concerned by the unconstitutional changes in government in Burkina Faso”.
Tai asked the government to take necessary actions to meet Agoa’s criteria “and return to elective democracy”.
Burkina Faso has had two military coups this year with the leaders of both promising to end a seven-year insurgency by insurgents.
In 2021, the US said it was delisting Mali, Ethiopia, alongside coup-hit Guinea as beneficiaries of the Agoa pact.