The White House has announced that the U.S. and Rwanda signed a bilateral investment treaty Feb. 19 during President Bush’s visit to that country. The treaty will enter into force once it is approved by the U.S. Senate and the Rwanda Parliament. The BIT follows the June 2006 signing of a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between the two countries, which established a regular high-level forum for addressing a wide range of bilateral trade and investment issues.
According to a White House fact sheet, the U.S.-Rwanda treaty is the first BIT concluded between the U.S. and a sub-Saharan African country since 1998. The U.S. currently has five BITs in force in the region (with Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo and Senegal) and 40 worldwide.
The fact sheet states that the BIT will provide numerous legal protections for U.S. and Rwandan investors, including nondiscriminatory treatment, free transfer of investment-related funds, prompt, adequate and effective compensation in the event of an expropriation, and transparency in governance. The BIT also gives investors the right to bring investment disputes to neutral, international arbitration panels.
The White House notes that U.S. investment in Rwanda is modest but that bilateral trade is growing, increasing by 40 percent in 2007 to nearly $29 million. U.S. imports from Rwanda were valued at $13 million, up 43 percent from 2006, and U.S. exports to Rwanda totaled $16 million, up 37 percent over the year before. Rwandan products are eligible for duty-free access to the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Generalized System of Preferences.
World Trade/Interactive
