Nov. 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has ordered Burkina Faso to be removed from the trade benefits program contemplated in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), in response to the latest democratic setbacks.
Biden has argued in a letter to Congress that Burkina Faso does not guarantee “the protection of the rule of law” and “political pluralism”, so the country will leave the AGOA plan for sub-Saharan African countries as of January 1 of 2023.
The US president is committed to continuing to examine political developments to determine if at any time Burkina Faso once again meets the requirements for this agreement, which conditions collaboration on respect for basic freedoms and human rights. The initiative offers preferential access to the US market.
The African country has been the scene of two coups in less than a year, the last one in September. The military leader Ibrahim Traoré, responsible for the transition, has promised international partners to hold elections in 2024.
