Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


US to End Cameroon's Preferential Trade Status

James Butty

   The White House plans to end Cameroon's preferential trade status in
   2020 because of alleged human rights violations, a charge the West
   Africannation'sgovernmentdisputes.

   U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision in a [1]written
   message to Congress on Thursday, saying Cameroon's government "engages
   in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights '¦
   [including] extrajudicial killings, arbitrary and unlawful detention,
   and torture."
   As of Jan. 1, Cameroon would be removed from the list of countries
   benefiting from the [2]African Growth and Opportunity Act. The 2000 law
   aims to stimulate U.S. trade and investment in sub-Saharan Africa and
   bolster economic growth in the region, primarily by enabling
   participating countries to market goods to the United States duty-free.

   Participants' responsibilities

   Cameroon was among 39 countries participating as of last January.
   Participants must show evidence of working toward a market-based
   economy, upholding core labor standards, establishing the rule of law
   and respecting human rights.
   Activist groups such as Human Rights Watch have reported [3]"credible
   accounts of torture and abuse" in Cameroon, where a two-year crisis
   over Anglophone-speaking regions' push for separation from the
   predominantly French-speaking country has left at least 2,000 people
   dead.
   In August, for example, HRW said Cameroonian authorities had held more
   than 100 detainees for weeks in overcrowded conditions, subjected them
   to torture and delayed trials. Detainees complained of beatings "with
   wooden clubs and machetes."

References

   1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/message-to-the-congress/
   2. https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/trade-development/preference-programs/african-growth-and-opportunity-act-agoa
   3. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/08/20/cameroon-detainees-tortured

.