The United States (US) President, Joe Biden has issued an advanced notification to end the participation of Uganda, Gabon, Niger, and the Central African Republic in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program effective January 1, 2024.

Biden revealed this in a letter to the US Speaker stating that, the four countries don’t have the requirements of Section 104 of AGOA.

According to the letter, the mentioned countries have engaged in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.

The US President pointed out, the government of Uganda and accused it of engaging in the gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.

“Despite intensive engagement between the US, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda, these countries have failed to address United States concerns about their non-compliance with the AGOA eligibility criteria,” Biden said.

He also mentioned Niger and Gabon’s failure to develop or maintain the protection of political pluralism and the rule of law.

AGOA provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. It also provides market for over 1,800 products, in addition to more than 5,000 products that are eligible for duty-free access under the Generalized System of Preferences program.

The United States recently terminated Burkina Faso from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program for failing to meet the requirements of the AGOA statute because of the unconstitutional change in government.