The termination notice, which also applies to Guinea and Mali, is effective January 1, 2022.
“Despite intensive engagement between the United States and the Governments of Ethiopia, Guinea, and Mali, these governments have failed to address United States concerns about their non-compliance with the AGOA eligibility criteria,” Biden said.
CNN has reported extensively on human rights abuses committed during the conflict, including detentions, acts of sexual violence, and killings that bear the hallmarks of genocide — findings that have contributed to calls from bipartisan lawmakers for the administration to take action.
Shortly after the investigation, US officials told CNN they would review Ethiopia’s eligibility in 2022, the scheduled review point.
AGOA membership is worth hundreds of millions of dollars of favorable market access to Ethiopia. The act provides eligible countries with duty-free access to the US market for more than 1,800 products on top of the more than 5,000 products that are already eligible for duty-free access.
In November, the conflict in Ethiopia passed a grim, one-year milestone. There have been repeated calls from the US and the international community for the parties to the conflict, including the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Eritrean forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), to end hostilities.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Katie Polglase and Barbara Arvanitidis contributed reporting.
