By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The United States has delisted Burkina Faso from its AGOA trade preference programme, expressing worry over “unconstitutional change” in government in the West African country, the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office said on Sunday.
The USTR’s office said Burkina Faso had failed to meet the requirements of the AGOA statute and would be given “clear benchmarks” for a pathway toward reinstatement to the trade programme, adding that Washington would work with the Burkinabe government.
The Washington’s action may not be unconnected with the government’s inability to curb an Islamist insurgency which led to two military coups in Burkina Faso in 2022.
Both the previous and current juntas have made efforts to beef up security, but Islamist attacks have continued.
The regime was recently accused of engaging Russia’s expert to curtail the militancy, an action condemned by the neighbouring Ghana.
The junta’s foreign affairs ministry reacted to the US decision on Monday by repeating a November statement saying that the timetable for a return to democracy had not changed.
Burkina Faso had committed to return to constitutional rule in 24 months in a July agreement with West African regional bloc ECOWAS.
The US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides sub-Saharan African nations with duty-free access to the United States if they meet certain eligibility requirements, such as eliminating barriers to US trade and investment and making progress toward political pluralism.
Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest countries. Militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have killed thousands of civilians there, creating one of Africa’s fastest-growing humanitarian crises.
Just before Christmas, Burkina Faso’s military government ordered a senior United Nations official to leave the country, a decision that was contested by the UN.
Although the government did not give a reason at the time, its foreign minister later accused the official, Barbara Manzi, of painting a negative picture of the security situation in the country.
