AGOA Status: Rwanda is eligible for AGOA this year. AGOA apparel benefits suspended by POTUS effective July 31, 2018.
Trade Agreements: The U.S.-Rwanda Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) was entered into force in January 2012. The negotiations toward the BIT were launched in 2007 as one outcome of the consultations under the 2006 United States-Rwanda Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). The most recent U.S.-Rwanda TIFA Council meeting was held in Washington in December, 2011.
The U.S. also signed Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFA) with the East African Community (EAC) in 2008, and with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in 2001. Rwanda is a member of both regional organizations.
U.S.-Rwanda Trade Facts
In 2019, Rwanda GDP was an estimated $10.2 billion (current market exchange rates); real GDP was up by an estimated 10.1%; and the population was 12 million. (Source: IMF)
Rwanda is currently our 181st largest goods trading partner with $64 million in total (two way) goods trade during 2019. Goods exports totaled $19 million; goods imports totaled $46 million. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Rwanda was $27 million in 2019.
Exports
- Rwanda was the United States' 189th largest goods export market in 2019.
- U.S. goods exports to Rwanda in 2019 were $19 million, down 25.4% ($6 million) from 2018 and down 44.8% from 2009.
- The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2019 were: machinery ($5 million), cereals (wheat) ($3 million), electrical machinery ($2 million), vehicles ($2 million), and plastics ($2 million).
- U.S. total exports of agricultural products to Rwanda totaled $3 million in 2019. Leading domestic export categories include: wheat ($3 million), condiments & sauces ($343 thousand), dairy products ($9 thousand), feeds & fodders not elsewhere specified or indicated ($8 thousand), and rice ($5 thousand).
Imports
- Rwanda was the United States' 143rd largest supplier of goods imports in 2019.
- U.S. goods imports from Rwanda totaled $46 million in 2019, down 32.3% ($22 million) from 2018, but up 138.0% from 2009.
- The top import categories (2-digit HS) in 2019 were: coffee, tea & spice (coffee) ($25 million), ores, slag, and ash (niobium, tantalum and vanadium, ores and concentrates) ($15 million), leather products ($2 million), vegetable saps and extracts (vegetable saps, and extracts nesoi) ($1 million), and wicker and basketware ($1 million).
- U.S. total imports of agricultural products from Rwanda totaled $27 million in 2019. Leading categories include: unroasted coffee ($24 million), tree nuts ($827 thousand), tea, including herbal ($531 thousand), roasted & instant coffee ($71 thousand), and processed fruit & vegetables ($64 thousand).
Trade Balance
- The U.S. goods trade deficit with Rwanda was $27 million in 2019, a 36.5% decrease ($15 million) over 2018.
Investment
- U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Rwanda (stock) was $11 million in 2019, unchanged from 2018. There is no information on the distribution of U.S. FDI in Rwanda.
- No data on Rwanda's FDI in the U.S. are available. There is no information on the distribution of Rwanda FDI in the U.S.
NOTE: No services trade data with Rwanda are available.