U.S., Liberia foster bilateral trade

U.S., Liberia foster bilateral trade    U.S. and Liberian government officials met in Washington last week to review progress in expanding their partnership on trade and investment under the 2007 U.S.-Liberia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
   This was the third meeting of the U.S.-Liberia TIFA Council, which provides a high-level forum for advancing cooperation on bilateral trade and investment issues.
   The officials examined the two governments' work in a number of trade-related areas, including implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), trade capacity building, export diversification, trade and investment promotion, infrastructure issues, and Liberia's accession into the World Trade Organization.
   'Since the TIFA was signed in 2007, the United States and Liberia have made huge strides in strengthening our engagement on bilateral trade and investment, and we have seen increased trade in both directions as a result,' said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis, in a statement.
   Following the TIFA government-to-government consultations, meetings were held with the U.S. businesses at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Corporate Council on Africa. During these meetings Liberian officials discussed many policy, legal and regulatory steps that have been taken to encourage investment in Liberia and U.S. businesses had the opportunity to discuss their interests and questions about doing business in Liberia.
   In 2010, the U.S. and Liberia's total two-way goods trade was $370 million. U.S. goods exports to Liberia totaled $190 million in 2010, up 102 percent from the previous year. Top U.S. exports were medical instruments, vehicles, cereals, and iron and steel products. U.S. goods imports from Liberia totaled $180 million in 2010, up 124 percent from the previous year. Top imports from Liberia last year were rubber, oil, and precious stones (diamonds).