The United States (US) has reportedly dropped Burkina Faso from its trade preference programme citing deep concerns over unconstitutional change in the West African country’s government, the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) office said in a statement on Sunday, reported The Reuters.
Burkina Faso has witnessed two military coups in 2022 due to the government’s inability to curb activity by armed groups. The previous and current military governments have made efforts to beef up the security situation in the country, but the attacks have continued.
The USTR’s office said Burkina Faso had failed to meet the requirements of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) statute and would be given benchmarks to get reinstated to the trade programme. It added that the US government would work with the Burkinabe government to meet the benchmarks.
Under the AGOA, the US provides duty-free access to sub-Saharan African nations if they meet specific eligibility requirements, including making progress towards political pluralism.
Burkina Faso has been in the grip of a conflict in which armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) have killed thousands of civilians. And displaced nearly two million people.
The violence, which has continued for about seven years, has mainly affected the northern and the eastern part of the country, crippling local economies, causing mass hunger, and restricting humanitarian aid.
On Monday, Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted to the US government’s announcement by reiterating a November statement saying the timetable for a return to democracy remains the same.
The Burkinabe government had committed to returning to constitutional rule in 24 months in a July agreement with the West African regional bloc ECOWAS.
Last month, Burkina Faso’s military government asked a senior UN official to exit the country. The country’s foreign minister later accused the official, Barbara Manzi, of painting a negative picture of the security situation in the country.
