Mauritania Barred From AGOA Benefits
Mauritania, which exported about $54.9 million in goods to the U.S. last year under trade preferences, will be barred from the African Growth and Opportunity Act at the beginning of 2019, because of its continuing problem with forced labor. Virtually all of the imports that are covered by AGOA are fuel, though the U.S. does import a few million dollars' worth of fish, fertilizers and other products. President Donald Trump sent a notification of the change to Congress on Nov. 2.
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"Forced or compulsory labor practices like hereditary slavery have no place in the 21st century,” Deputy U.S. Trade Representative C.J. Mahoney said in a release announcing the policy change. "This action underscores this Administration’s commitment to ending modern slavery and enforcing labor provisions in our trade laws and trade agreements. We hope Mauritania will work with us to eradicate forced labor and hereditary slavery so that its AGOA eligibility may be restored in the future."
The AFL-CIO petitioned for the country's removal from the program last year (see 1708230066), testifying, "Men and children typically herd animals or work in the fields, while women perform domestic work. They face verbal and physical abuse, and girls and women are subject to sexual abuse and rape. Slave status is inherited, so children born to a mother in slavery are also considered property and can be rented out, loaned, given as gifts in marriage or inherited." Mauritania was barred from AGOA once before, after a coup.