The United States’ recent decision to remove Ethiopia[1] from the African Growth And Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program is a significant and intentional blow to the Ethiopian people and economy.
The country exported around $3 billion worth of product in 2019[2] — removal from AGOA will cut out approximately half of Ethiopia’s exports to the U.S., which has been the country’s largest export market[3]. According to a recent article in Foreign Policy[4], this removal will force[5] over 200,000 people, 80% of whom are young women, to lose their jobs. Those most affected by this particular move made by the U.S. are the Ethiopian people, not the Ethiopian Government.
And the reason this is being done to Ethiopia is no secret — it is also no secret to Ethiopians why they were allowed to be a part of AGOA in the first place.
The message of many in Ethiopia to the U.S. regarding this removal has been consistent: It is still not too late to stop what you are doing and start supporting a democratically-elected government. You can reverse the AGOA sanction on Ethiopia and save thousands of people their jobs and life security. This decision also damages Ethiopia’s export market significantly, which will hurt the overall population. America can still support Ethiopia and earn back the trust of the Ethiopian people. We still believe America is capable of standing for its founding values. If this continues, however, it’s clear that America will lose the hearts of Ethiopians to other super power influences.
As Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma from the Republican Party said:[6] Other superpowers are already in Ethiopia, clearly ready to come off as more virtuous and supportive
