The Office of the US Trade Representative said the decision was due to concerns about an ‘unconstitutional change’ in government.
The United States has removed Burkina Faso from its preferential trade program, citing deep concerns about an “unconstitutional change” in government in the country, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said on Sunday. this West African country.
Frustration over the government’s inability to rein in the activities of armed groups prompted two military coups in Burkina Faso in 2022. The previous and current military governments have made efforts to increase security. , but the attacks continued.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides sub-Saharan African countries tax-free access to the United States if they meet specific eligibility requirements, including obtaining progress towards political pluralism.
The USTR’s office said Burkina Faso did not meet the requirements of the AGOA regulation and would be given “clear standards” for a roadmap to reinstate the trade program, adding that Washington would do so. work with Ouagadougou.
On Monday, the Burkinabe Foreign Ministry responded to the decision by repeating a statement in November saying the timetable for returning to democracy had not changed.
Burkina Faso pledged to return to constitutional rule in 24 months in a July agreement with the West African regional bloc ECOWAS.
Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been engulfed in a conflict in which armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) have killed thousands of civilians and created one of the the continent’s fastest growing humanitarian crisis.
Nearly two million people have been displaced, residing in makeshift camps, many run by the United Nations, scattered across the arid countryside.
The violence lasted about seven years, concentrated in the north and east, crippling local economies, causing mass famines and limiting access to aid organisations.
Just before Christmas, the military government of Burkina Faso request a senior United Nations official left the country. United Nations Dispute the decision states that “the doctrine of unwelcome personality does not apply to United Nations officials”.
Although the government did not give a reason at the time, its foreign minister later accused official Barbara Manzi of painting a negative picture of the security situation in the country.
