Country Information - Dem. Rep of Congo

ECONOMIC BACKGROUND The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a nation endowed with vast potential wealth, although its economy has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The civil war, which began in August 1998, has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue and has increased external debt. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government of the DRC to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and current President Kabila has begun implementing reforms. (Source: World Factbook, 2003) Click here for Country Map [23kB]

BI-LATERAL TRADE OVERVIEW Bi-lateral trade between the US and the DRC is heavily one-sided, with the US’ exports from the DRC outweighing its exports to that country more than 6-fold. During 2002, the DRC currently enjoyed a trade surplus of $ 174 million, up from $ 135 million in 2001. This trade profile has remained fairly constant over the 6-year period under review (see graph alongside). The DRC’s most important export category in its trade with the US consists of energy-related products, as can be seen in the bi-lateral trade profile by following the link below. In 2002, 80% of the country’s exports to the US fell into this category, up from 73% the previous year. Other export categories include mostly minerals and metals, and a small number of miscellaneous manufactures. Since the DRC only qualified for AGOA on 01 January 2003, no AGOA exports were recorded up to that point. However, most of the countries exports previously qualified for duty-free entry into the US under the GSP program. Detailed bilateral trade data for this country, disaggregated by industry sector, can be accessed by following the link below. Aggregate data featuring all AGOA-eligible countries is updated on this website as soon as new data is published, including ranked AGOA / non-AGOA trade, aggregate trade by industry sector as well as the latest apparel trade data. Click here for Detailed Trade Profile