Sub-Saharan nation Rwanda has finally lost duty-free access for apparel exports to the US after President Donald Trump administration suspended the facility provided to the country. The ban would impact around 3 per cent of the country’s total exports to the US.
The decision has come after a trade dispute between two countries related to US exports of used clothing. The suspension came into effect after 60 days notification as Rwanda failed to take corrective action.
“We regret this outcome and hope it is temporary,” Deputy USTR C.J. Mahoney said in a statement.
President Trump found that Rwanda unfairly increased tariffs on American used clothing and footwear.
US administration also claimed that this ban has violated countries’ obligations under African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which is intended to promote development in Sub-Saharan Africa through duty-free access to the US market.
East African nations’ decision to ban importation of used clothes by 2019 irked US’s Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART). The industry body alleged that planned bans by Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda on used clothing and footwear adversely impacted the industry.
However, these nations stated that decision was taken to make regional industries viable.
A petition filed SMART in this regard to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in March last year claimed that the ban took toll on 40,000 US jobs in collecting, processing and distributing used clothing and footwear.
