October 31, 223 – President Biden yesterday notified Congress that he intends to terminate preferential trade status for four African countries – The Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger and Uganda – under provisions of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). Initially enacted by the U.S. Congress in 2000 to support economic development across Africa, AGOA qualifying countries must demonstrate progress in developing market-based economies, securing the rule of law, combating corruption, and protecting human rights. Countries that qualify receive preferential trade access to U.S. markets. Uganda last year exported $174 million in goods to the United States with support from this trade preference program.
The termination of Uganda's AGOA benefits has been anticipated for some time based on a significant deterioration across the board in the human rights landscape in the country. But for Uganda, the final straw was undoubtedly the passage in May of the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), the most draconian piece of legislation targeting LGBTQI+ individuals anywhere in the world. The law significantly increases already harsh criminal penalties to life in prison or death, requires reporting of suspected LGBTQI+ persons, and criminalizes those who advocate for the rights of LGBTQI+ persons with 20 years in prison. Even Ugandans who rent housing or local accommodations to LGBTQI+ persons face 7 years in prison. Quite simply, the AHA is genocidal in its intent, and it clearly contravenes the human rights ideals that animate the AGOA trade framework.
The timing of this announcement is also significant. Later this week, trade representatives from AGOA-eligible countries will meet with business leaders and civil society at the 20th AGOA Forum in South Africa to promote economic opportunities and economic integration. The theme of this year's AGOA Forum is "Partnering to Build a Resilient, Sustainable, and Inclusive AGOA to Support Economic Development, Industrialization and Quality Job Creation." It is fitting that South Africa, with broad legal protections for its LGBTQI+ workers and citizens, is hosting the forum, and that Uganda, which seeks to drive LGBTQI+ workers out of its labor market – and indeed out of all aspects of public life – is being kicked out of AGOA. We hope this will be a lesson to other economies in Africa and beyond: LGBTQI+ persecution has significant political, economic, and practical consequences.
President Biden warned Uganda after the AHA was passed that the impact of the law would factor into the country's AGOA eligibility. But the Ugandan government did not seek to mitigate the impact of the law. To the contrary, the law's widespread implementation is evidenced by a stunning recent report documenting arrests, evictions, and violence perpetrated since the law was enacted in May.
In June, CGE met with U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Tai and submitted a formal request to terminate Uganda's AGOA benefits. We are pleased that the Biden Administration has now taken this principled step to honor AGOA's human rights commitments. This is the first time that an anti-LGBTQI+ law has featured so prominently in a major trade decision by the United States. We hope it will stand as a future precedent – and that it will send shock waves through the AGOA Forum in South Africa later this week, particularly for other AGOA countries that are flirting with similar anti-LGBTQI+ legislation.
This is the second jolt to Uganda's economy by the United States in as many weeks. Just last week, the U.S. State Department issued a business advisory for Uganda, warning investors and employers that the AHA is an unprecedented assault on human rights and the rule of law and that it is likely to have a deeply destabilizing impact on the business sector. The State Department warned that the AHA exacerbates risks of corruption, undermines the legality of leases and employment contracts and because it has extraterritorial reach, "broadcasters, streaming services and internet advertisers may face risks to their business in Uganda arising from activities outside of Uganda." Ultimately, it warns in stark terms that: "The AHA creates additional avenues for corrupt actors to extract bribes, delay permits, and hinder competition through LGBTQI+ reporting under the law, or threats of such reporting, which require little to no substantiation." In addition, corporations must now report suspected LGBTQI+ employees and customers to the authorities for criminal investigation.
The AHA is a devastating law and its continued implementation will have a profound impact on the economic and political life of the country. Today's announcement is just one more reminder of the AHA's cost in both human and financial terms.
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