Ethiopia has not been included in the list of beneficiary countries for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), based on an announcement by the United States. Marking the third consecutive year of exclusion, the US stated that Ethiopia will remain ineligible for AGOA benefits in 2025. This decision was confirmed in a statement released on December 21, 2024, by USTR Spokesperson Sam Michel, after the annual AGOA eligibility review conducted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Despite Ethiopia’s efforts to regain benefits from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) it has been unsuccessful. The United States Chamber of Commerce revealed the list of 32 countries eligible for AGOA benefits on December 21, 2024, and Ethiopia was notably absent from the list.

In July of the previous year, discussions were held by officials of the US Trade Representative’s Office to determine Ethiopia’s eligibility for African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). However, the decision to leave the suspension of benefits for Ethiopia is yet to be finalized.

Following the genocidal war in Tigray three years ago, US President Joe Biden announced in January 2022 the cancellation of Ethiopia’s tax and tariff exemptions under AGOA.

Earlier this year in September, Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, appealed to the US to lift the AGOA embargo on Ethiopia during talks with US Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, Ambassador Mike Hamer.

Since the exclusion, Ethiopia has faced reduced exports, job losses, and economic challenges for businesses and workers who relied on access to the U.S. market. The suspension has also led to firms diverting their exports to domestic or other foreign markets, but this hasn’t fully compensated for the loss of the U.S. market. Before being removed from the program, Ethiopia was a major AGOA beneficiary, with industrial parks specially garment manufacturing sectors exporting goods to the US duty-free.

It is noted that the cessation of Ethiopia’s utilization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) led to the closure of numerous factories across different sectors within the country.