AGOA as a Political Tool

December 29, 2021

BY ADDISALEM MULAT

The U.S. for long has been trying to justify its unfair sanctions and pressure against Ethiopia as a tool to influence the political leadership of Ethiopia. But last week, the country moved to approve the suspension of Ethiopia from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Washington’s measure would make millions of working Ethiopians, particularly, women to lose their jobs. The people who have been working in the textile and apparel industries will be economically impacted by the political decision.

The U.S. termination of Ethiopia from AGOA eligibility is an ill-judged and politically-motivated measure that would damage the American business interest in the continent of Africa. The decision also validates the years of argument that economic privileges are used to enforce the political interests of the providers.

Washington’s decision came amidst opposition from congress members with some writing open letters to the Biden administration.

For instance, member of the United States Congress and Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Karen Bass lobbied the Biden Administration to keep Ethiopia in AGOA.

Prior to the endorsement of the termination, Bass has urged the Administration to allow time for all parties in Ethiopia to take the necessary steps to end this conflict, deploy humanitarian aid to those who need it, and continue negotiations to garner peace. “The abrupt timeline of January 1, 2022, will adversely impact citizens without necessarily alternating the pace of progress.”

On November 2, the Biden Administration announced its intent to suspend Ethiopia from AGOA by January 1, 2022. Suspension of AGOA will reverse economic gains that have been hard-won by the people of Ethiopia, American investors, and exacerbate the circumstances of the most vulnerable sectors of the population, including women and children.

In other news, Sen. Jim Inhofe in his Twitter page also stated that the Biden administration should take real steps to undo the sanctions against the democratically elected government of Ethiopia and roll back the termination of AGOA benefits. Sen. Jim took the lead in successfully removing the “Genocide” Provision included in the Defense appropriation bill of HR 4350 (Section 6464), it was learned.

The approval of the termination in spite of its impact on low-income communities indicates that the political measure to ban Ethiopia from economic opportunities is a textbook example of western bias and unwarranted pressure AGOA is only the tip of the iceberg. The U.S. has been putting all-rounded pressure against Ethiopia. The U.S. and its allies have been sparing no effort to twist the arms of nations worldwide under the guise of human rights and democracy.

On the subject of the misguided U.S. foreign policy towards Ethiopia, people from all walks of life have been expressing their disappointment time and time again. As things stand at present, the issue is turning out to be the talk of the entire world.

The sanctions that the U.S. government has imposed against Ethiopia and other developing nations are in contrast to international laws, said international criminal law expert John Philpot in a webinar meeting hosted by the Ethiopian American Civic Council (EACC) and Sanctions Kill.

Noting different countries including Iran, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Syria, Lebanon, and North Korea are suffering greatly as a result of the U.S. sanctions, Philpot expressed the desire of his organization to make the same not to happen in Ethiopia. Sanctions Kill’s report underlined that the U.S. sanctions are violating the United Nations’ Charter of the sovereign equality of all member states.

“Big countries and institutions including the U.S. or EU cannot interfere in the internal affairs of Ethiopia or try to impose a change in the government or a policy. That is illegal.” In December 2020, the UN General Assembly voted in Resolution 75/181 rejecting resolution of human rights and unilateral coercive measures by 70 percent against, in a clear manifestation of the world is against sanctions.

“North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and other countries have previously been subject to the U.S. sanctions, but the measure did not change the Sanctions. As a matter of fact, sanctions have made countries more resilient and stronger,” said economist Tsegaye Degineh (Ph.D.) in an interview with local media.

Noting Cuba has been under sanctions for more than 60 years, the scholar highlighted that the country has never changed its policy even if it has been challenged by economic setbacks. By the same token, Iran has repeatedly been sanctioned; however, it has been able to compete with the West by increasing productivity and strengthening market linkages with other neighboring countries.

“While the U.S. decision to revoke Ethiopia’s AGOA privilege is something embarrassing, the work being done by Ethiopians must be intensified to change the former’s stance rather than begging them.”

Tsegaye noted that exploring potential markets and increasing productivity would enable Ethiopia to overcome the Biden Administration’s unwarranted restriction. Only seven percent of Ethiopia’s total exports are destined to the U.S. and the AGOA’s share is insignificant The U.S. government is now doing its level best to use Ethiopia for geopolitical advantages in the Horn of Africa region. This is a return that makes the Ethio- American relations not to be in a good position. These have been observed on various occasions namely in the UN security council, UN Human Rights Council and AGOA cases. The country has been also supporting the terrorist TPLF ideas and so on which spoil the Ethio-American diplomatic relations, according to EACC President Deacon Yoseph Teferi.

In order to reverse such misguided policy, EACC and the members of Ethiopia Diaspora have planned to do various activities. Among the plans, EACC would continue staging rallies to echo Ethiopian stances, signing petitions as well as intensifying diplomatic and lobbies efforts in every direction to keep and protect Ethiopian national interest, Yoseph added.

“Since EACC is a civic organization, it has a chance to put pressures on the voting process of the American election. So, we will also continue our influence on the coming U.S election as we did in Virginia. This is important to warn the Democrats that we will not put our votes in the same basket as we did in the past.”

Ethiopian-Americans could vote senators who could listen and understand them”, he explained. Besides, they must understand that harming and tarnishing Ethiopia and its image both in the United Nations and international arenas would cause many years of trouble for the Ethio-American relations. Hence, “we are ready to work with the U.S. for the common benefit of both countries.”

The Ethiopian Herald December 29/2021