Africa Business Radio

The United States has cut Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea out of a duty-free trade programme over alleged human rights violations and recent coups. The US Trade Representative says it terminated the three countries from the African Growth and Opportunity Act due to actions taken by each of their governments in violation of the AGOA Statute. It says the US was deeply concerned by the gross violations of internationally recognised human rights being perpetrated by the government of Ethiopia and other parties amid the widening conflict in northern Ethiopia as well as by the unconstitutional change in governments in both Guinea and Mali.