President Barack Obama announced formally last week that the United States (US) had terminated Burundi’s eligibility for participation in the preferential trade programme, the African Growth and Development Act (Agoa).
In a letter to the US Congress, Obama commented that he was acting because Burundi had “failed to institute the rule of law and political pluralism”.
“In particular,” he said, “the continuing crackdown on opposition members, which has included assassinations, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and torture, have worsened significantly during the election campaign that returned President Nkurunziza to power earlier this year.”
