The Republic of Uganda has been excluded from the list of Sub-Saharan countries benefiting from African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) after failing to meet the requirements set by the United States Government in the US Trade Act.
AGOA provides sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. market for over 1,800 products.
“I have determined that the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda do not meet the requirements described in the Trade Act,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement issued by the White House on December 29, 2023.
“Accordingly, I have decided to terminate the designations of the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries for purposes of section 506A of the Trade Act, effective January 1, 2024,” his statement adds.
The development comes after Biden last year said Uganda does not currently meet the criterion of countries benefiting from AGOA due to reports of human rights abuses and was therefore set to lose its eligibility for AGOA benefits, effective January 1, 2024.
However, in a letter dated October 31, 2023, Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Office of the President, wrote to Uganda’s Trade Minister Francis Mwebesa, saying, “It is still possible with urgent action for Uganda to retain its eligibility for AGOA benefits if 1) your government publicly releases an action plan on addressing human rights concerns, and 2) the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) is repealed.”
But this has not been implemented to date, with the Anti-homosexuality law, which is being challenged in Uganda’s Constitutional Court, still in practice and upheld by the ruling government in Uganda.
The scrapping of AGOA benefits is expected to mostly hurt local entrepreneurs who have been exporting their merchandise to the United States.
Figures indicate that by the close of 2021, Uganda’s exports to the United States courtesy of AGOA stood at a paltry $5.1 million (about Shs20 billion).
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