Office of the United States Trade Representative

 

United States and Ghana Chart Course for Cooperation on Trade and Investment
01/15/2008
 

 

Washington, D.C.U.S. and Ghanaian trade and development officials met today to review progress in deepening their partnership on trade and investment issues.  This was the fifth meeting of the United States-Ghana Trade and Investment Council since this forum for senior-level discussions was created in 1999. 

Deputy United States Trade Representative John K. Veroneau led the U.S. delegation in which 16 U.S. Government agencies participated.  Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Gifty Konadu led the Ghanaian delegation.  U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Pamela Bridgewater and Ghanaian Ambassador to the United States Kwame Bawuah-Edusei also participated in the meeting.

Ghana is one of our most important trading partners in Africa and is also among the leading economic reformers in the region,” said Ambassador Veroneau.  “The meeting provided an opportunity for us to discuss a broad range of issues, including steps to further expand and diversify the U.S.-Ghana trade and economic relationship.”

The Trade and Investment Council, established pursuant to the United States-Ghana Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), monitors trade and investment relations and facilitates an ongoing dialogue to help increase commercial and investment opportunities by identifying and working to remove impediments to trade and investment flows between the United States and Ghana

During today’s meeting, officials from the United States and Ghana explored several common objectives, including cooperation in the World Trade Organization, implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), export diversification, intellectual property protection and enforcement, trade capacity building and technical assistance, and infrastructure issues. 

Background:

Two-way trade between the United States and Ghana was valued at $572 million in the first eleven months of 2007, a 31 percent increase over the same period in 2006.  U.S. exports to Ghana during this period were valued at $385 million, increasing 44 percent, and U.S. imports from Ghana were valued at $187 million, increasing by 11 percent.  Of the latter, imports from Ghana under AGOA and the Generalized System of Preferences totaled $66.5 million, an increase of 53 percent, and included petroleum, apparel, yams, cassava, cocoa paste, and wood ornaments.  In the first eleven months of 2007, over 99 percent of imports from Ghana entered the United States duty-free.  In July 2007, Ghana hosted the Sixth U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, also known as “The AGOA Forum.”

The United States has signed TIFAs with countries throughout the world in order to enhance trade ties and improve coordination on multilateral issues through regular senior level discussions on trade and economic issues.

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