By Sanjana Dubey, Office of Public and Media Affairs
Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis met today with President Joyce Banda of the Republic of Malawi to discuss how both governments can stimulate two-way trade and investment, strengthen Malawi’s business and investment environment, and contribute to regional economic growth.
Ambassador Marantis meets with President Joyce Banda of the Republic of Malawi.
In 2012, total two-way U.S.-Malawi trade was valued at $129.9 million, which represented a 7 percent increase from the previous year. U.S. exports to Malawi mainly consisted of wheat, pharmaceutical products and machinery, while U.S. imports from Malawi consisted of tobacco, apparel, tea, macadamia nuts, and sugar.
Last year, Malawi’s exports under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) were valued at $53.1 million, which represented 86 percent of the country’s total exports to the United States. Malawi has made significant progress in diversifying its AGOA exports, which previously were comprised of mostly in-quota tobacco and sugar, by focusing on developing its apparel sector. Ambassador Marantis congratulated the Malawian government for its recent economic reforms, and voiced U.S. support for continued efforts to improve Malawi’s trade and investment business environment.
