Describes bilateral and multilateral trade agreements that this country is party to, including with the United States. Includes websites and other resources where U.S. companies can get more information on how to take advantage of these
Last Published: 7/11/2019
Rwanda is one of 19 members of the COMESA (www.comesa.int) that offers preferential terms of trade for its members.  Rwanda is also a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) (www.wto.org) and joined the EAC (www.eac.int) in 2007 and the Commonwealth (http://thecommonwealth.org) in 2009. It is also a member of  Economic Community of the Great Lakes and  the Economic Community of Central African States. Rwanda hosted the signing ceremony for the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement in 2018, and was one of the first countries to ratify that agreement, which enter into force soon.  While the EAC now has a Customs Union and Common Market, the slow pace of regulatory reform, lack of harmonization, non-tariff barriers, and bureaucratic inefficiencies still hamper the free movement of goods, capital, and people.  Except for apparel products, Rwanda is eligible for trade preferences under the AGOA (http://trade.gov/agoa/), which the United States enacted to extend duty-free and quota-free access to the U.S. market for many goods produced in eligible beneficiary countries.
 
The United States and Rwanda signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in 2006, and a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT in 2008. 
Rwanda has active bilateral investment treaties with Germany (1969), Belgium-Luxemburg Economic Union (1985), and the Republic of Korea (2013).  Rwanda signed bilateral investment treaties with Mauritius (2001), South Africa (2000), Turkey (2016), Morocco (2016), the United Arab Emirates (2016), and Qatar (2018), but these treaties have yet to enter into force. 
Rwanda signed the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EAC and the European Union; this agreement has not yet entered into force

 
Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.


More Information

Rwanda Trade Development and Promotion Trade Agreements