US to cut Ethiopia from trade program over rights abuses

By CARA ANNA and AAMER MADHANI
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he’s moving to cut out Ethiopia from a U.S. trade program. That sets the path for further sanctions against the African nation over its failure to end a nearly yearlong war in the Tigray region. Biden in a letter to Congress said he had determined that Ethiopia has not met eligibility requirements to remain a beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The program provides sub-Saharan African nations duty-free access to the United States on the condition they meet certain requirements. The sanction is set to take effect on Jan. 1. Thousands have been killed in the war that began in November 2020.