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Getahun Tsegaye
Staff Reporter
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Ethiopia, which was excluded from AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act), a program that allows African countries to export their products to the United States duty and quota-free, is reportedly preparing to enter negotiations with the United States.
The Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration announced that Ethiopia will hold discussions with the US, aiming for a new tariff agreement framework centered on its national interest. The negotiations are said to be aimed at facilitating the export of goods, including those that previously enjoyed duty-free access, and to return to the AGOA framework.
While Ethiopia has clearly expressed its desire to negotiate, the response from the Trump administration remains unknown. There are concerns that Trump’s “quid pro quo” foreign policy approach, which he has emphasized upon his potential return to power for a second term, could impose an unbearable burden on Ethiopia.
In his past negotiations with other countries, Trump has demanded concessions that include valuable minerals and impinge on national sovereignty. Although it’s difficult to predict the specific preconditions the controversial Trump might present for Ethiopia’s proposed negotiations, it’s widely expected that it won’t be an easy process.
Reporter newspaper reported that the negotiation concerns the ten percent tariff recently imposed by the US on Ethiopian products entering its market. It was stated that the opportunity to export products duty-free to the US was revoked, and the negotiation aims to reinstate this opportunity.
Ethiopian officials have stated that they will engage in negotiations, including putting AGOA on the table, to ensure product exports and national benefit. However, the Reporter’s report indicates that the start date of the negotiations and the US’s stance are not yet clearly known.
It’s recalled that Ethiopia was delisted from AGOA due to the conflict in northern Ethiopia and the human rights violations committed by the government and other parties involved in the war. It’s also worth noting that President Donald Trump previously imposed tariff increases on countries with the aim of boosting domestic production and creating jobs.
President Trump had stated that the US would lift tariffs if a negotiating proposal that protected its interests was presented. Accordingly, Ethiopian officials are reportedly preparing to safeguard American interests to maintain the duty-free trade opportunity.
The US has already communicated its interests concerning Ethiopia in agriculture, industry, and other selected sectors that are expected to face tariff increases. Trump’s emergence as a leader who says he’d “rather be dead” than not get what he wants for America from other countries has intensified trade wars.
Regarding this, a document has reportedly been prepared by Ethiopia and will be sent to the US through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Whether it will be possible to negotiate based on the US’s expressed interests and restore the duty-free trade opportunity remains to be seen.
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