Uganda’s president has talked about the United States’ decision to remove the country from a big trade agreement.
Last week, Joe Biden said that Uganda and three other countries wouldn’t be part of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) anymore.
The US had earlier mentioned this might happen because Uganda had passed a strict law against homosexuality.
On Sunday, President Yoweri Museveni told Ugandans not to worry too much about it.
“Some of these actors in the Western world overestimate themselves and underestimate the freedom fighters of Africa,” he said.
Agoa, which started in 2000, allows certain sub-Saharan African countries to export more than 1,800 products to the US without paying import taxes.
Uganda has been selling products like coffee and textiles to the United States under this deal.
But the US isn’t a major market for Uganda, so the removal from Agoa won’t hurt its economy too much.
Before the 20th Agoa forum in South Africa, President Biden announced that Uganda, Gabon, Niger, and the Central African Republic (CAR) would be removed from the program.
He said they were being removed because their governments were violating internationally recognized human rights.
The CAR is working closely with mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group, who have been accused of killing civilians and other abuses.
Niger and Gabon are both ruled by the military after coups, so they don’t meet the criteria for Agoa eligibility.
In May, the US had warned it might remove Uganda from Agoa because of the tough new anti-homosexuality law.
This law has been criticized worldwide because it punishes certain same-sex acts with the death penalty.
In his statement on Sunday, President Museveni said, “As far as Uganda is concerned, we have the capacity to achieve our growth and transformation targets, even if some of the actors do not support us.”
His senior aide and son-in-law, Odrek Rwabwogo, had previously warned that Ugandan farmers and small business owners would be affected by the removal from Agoa.
Uganda will officially be removed from Agoa starting at the beginning of next year.
In August, the World Bank stopped giving new loans to Uganda after the anti-homosexuality law, and last month, the US State Department warned about the risks of doing business there.
Mr. Museveni accused the World Bank of trying to force the government to drop the controversial law using money.
