Ministry Encourages U.S. Government to Reconsider Decision

African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration

Addis Ababa, December 27, 2021 (Walta) – The Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration has strongly encouraged the U.S government to reconsider its decision about revocation Ethiopia from AGOA.

The ministry in its statement issued today noted that the Government of Ethiopia deeply regrets the decision of the U.S. government to terminate the continued eligibility for trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

The Ethiopian Government has continued to take measures aimed at restoring peace and stability and consolidating the political and economic reforms launched three years ago. Considering the long-standing cordial relationship that has existed between our two countries, we have engaged in good faith with relevant agencies within the US administration to restore our mutually beneficial partnership, it was noted.

According to the statement, removing Ethiopia from AGOA undermines rather than further the cause of human rights in Ethiopia. AGOA-based export opportunities have created jobs for hundreds of thousands of some of the most vulnerable people in the country, including young women with children to raise and elderly relatives to support.

The ministry further underscored that Ethiopia’s removal from AGOA will cause to the lives and livelihoods of so many innocent people who have nothing to do with the current crisis is significant.