Effective Jan. 1, 2020, President Trump intends to terminate the designation of Cameroon as a beneficiary country under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. A White House press release explains that Cameroon “has failed to address concerns regarding persistent human rights violations being committed by Cameroonian security forces,” including “extrajudicial killings, arbitrary and unlawful detention, and torture.”
The press release notes that the U.S. will continue to monitor whether Cameroon “continues to engage in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights in accordance with the AGOA eligibility requirements,” an apparent indication that Cameroon could regain AGOA eligibility at some point if it ceases the offending actions.
A CNN article cited Cameroon’s foreign minister as saying his country’s exports to the U.S. under AGOA are valued at about $5 million and mostly consist of agricultural and petroleum products.
For more information on AGOA, including country eligibility and how to utilize available tariff preferences, please contact trade consultant Nicole Bivens Collinson at (202) 730-4956.
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