Niels Marquardt: the AGOA depends on the erection of the Transition’s institutions

The United States of America gave a reprieve to Madagascar, one last opportunity to preserve the country’s eligibility to the AGOA. “Washington is day after day and hour after hour very concerned about the events in Madagascar”, explained the ambassador Niels Marquardt. The diplomat had to defend the Great Isle’s file in front of the American administration. The problem is that the political crisis in the country is not exactly on its way down.  

“Evidence of progress toward the return to constitutional order in Madagascar has to be shown”, noticed Niels Marquardt. “Hundreds of thousands of jobs will only be preserved by the erection of the Transition’s government and other institutions”. Without the eligibility to the AGOA, the concerned companies, mainly textile industries, will lose their competitiveness on the American market, and logically their orders as a consequence. 

According to ambassador Marquardt, “Time is lacking but it is not yet too late. Now is the eleventh hour “, he said. “The decision will be implemented on January 01st, 2010, and definitely pronounced by president Obama in December “, he explained.  

Apart from the risk to lose its eligibility to the AGOA, Madagascar is back again under the threat of sanctions, namely suspension of foreign financial support, could the Maputo and Addis Ababa processes fail to succeed. Objectors to the “transitional regime installed by foreign hands”, and previous allies of Andry Rajoelina, are militating against this pressure from the financial backers for a quick return to constitutional order.