US main import from Rwanda is coffee
Rwandan trade officials and USA diplomats are discussing President Obama’s Tax-Free initiative on more Rwanda’s travel goods and luggage targeting the US Market.
President Obama added 27 travel and luggage goods from developing countries on the list of products that receive duty-free treatment in US under an Annual Product Review of June 2016.
Rwanda is one of the Priority countries enlisted as a beneficiary for Tax-Free exports to the United States of America.
The United States of America’s Ambassador to Rwanda, Ms. Erica J. Barks-Ruggles and Rwanda officials from Ministry of Trade and Industry (Minicom), met on August, 2 to plan ways these products will reach the market.
The market was given under Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Annual Product Review.
Benefiting countries are provided under African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a United States Trade Act.
According to a communiqué from Minicom, “The move means that Rwanda will export more products to the US.”
The Office of United States Trade Representative indicate that U.S imports from Rwanda summed to $24 million as recent as 2013.
The largest import categories in 2013 were: Spices, Coffee and Tea with coffee alone earning $17 million, pectates with $3 million, Ores, Slag, and Ash tantalum of $3 million, tungsten $332,000 and basketwork worth $325,000.
Agriculture products dominated the list with $20 million in 2013. The largest category is unroasted coffee with $17 million.
Duty-free access to the U.S. market under the combined AGOA/GSP program stands at approximately 7,000 product tariff lines.
“AGOA products” include items such as apparel and footwear, wine, certain motor vehicle components, a variety of agricultural products, chemicals, steel and many others.
