US suspend duty-free benefits for Rwanda's clothing

Washington (AFP) – The United States on Monday suspended duty-free benefits for Rwanda's clothing because of tariffs imposed by the East African country on imports of used clothing and clothing. of shoes that blame him for harming the local textile industry. US President Donald Trump "suspends the application of duty-free treatment for all clothing products in Rwanda," the US Trade Representative's office said in a statement

. US Trade Representative CJ Mahoney said in his statement that the affected products accounted for about three percent of Rwandan exports to the United States. United States in 2017, valued at $ 1.5 million, which means that "the president's action does not affect the vast majority of Rwandan exports to the United States," he said

. In 2016, Kigali increased tariffs on the import of clothing from the occasion, disrupting a multi-million dollar industry and colliding with it. At the beginning, the East African Community's regional bloc was united in its fight against used clothing, but the alliance creaked as Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda were reluctant to the loss of access to US markets by AGOA. 19659008] Rwanda alone did not capitulate and in 2016, its imports of used clothing dropped by a third.