US Removes Uganda From AGOA Trade Deal As Punishment For Passing Anti-Gay Law

• US president Joe Biden officially removed Uganda from benefiting from the AGOA programme after failing to meet the requirements
• Other countries knocked out in the December decree include the Central African Republic, Gabon, and Niger
• The expulsion raised concerns about the future employment situation of Uganda's population, as the country largely depends on agricultural produce, a major export to the US

Nancy Odindo, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.

US president Joe Biden has delisted Uganda from benefiting from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which grew Uganda's exports from KSh 4 billion in 2019 to KSh 39 billion in 2022.

Biden said on December 29, 2023, that the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda had not met the requirements necessary to allow them to continue benefiting from the trade deal.

“Accordingly, I have decided to terminate the designations of the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries for purposes of Section 506A of the Trade Act, effective January 1, 2024,” read the statement by the US president.

According to the Monitor, Biden had hinted at removing the landlocked country from benefiting from AGOA, stating that Uganda “engaged in gross violations of internationally recognised human rights.”

What Uganda will be losing

The U.S. duty-free act, established in 2000, has played a pivotal role in Uganda's economic growth, allowing the Yoweri Museveni-led government to export 80% of its agricultural products to the high-ranking Western state.

This has been a major source of employment, engaging over 70% of the local workforce. Nevertheless, the recent expulsion from the deal raises concerns about a substantial reduction in job opportunities for the Ugandan population.

"Over 80 per cent of Uganda’s exports under AGOA were from the agricultural sector, which employs about 72% of the country’s workforce, indicating that the expulsion could have a significant hit on jobs," said a report by the East African.

The publication further disclosed that the country could be readmitted into AGOA after it meets the set criteria, meaning scrapping away the anti-gay laws.

What offence did Uganda commit?

Museveni approved the anti-homosexuality bill, sparking praise and condemnation from several global leaders.

Anita Among, the speaker of the Ugandan parliament, stated that the lawmakers legislated on the bill to protect the sanctity of Ugandans.

Before the outcome, Museveni said that his citizens found to be members of the LGBTQ+ community would face 10 years of imprisonment or death charges for failing to embrace heterosexuality.

He praised his citizens for rejecting the culture, terming homosexuals as deviants.

"I want to congratulate the Ugandan believers for rejecting homosexuality. There are some issues with these Europeans. We've been telling them about this problem of homosexuality; it is not something that you should normalise, and I told them there were few homosexuals before they came here," he said amid cheers.