Country Information - Niger

ECONOMIC BACKGROUND Note: Niger was suspended from AGOA at the end of 2009 Niger is a poor, landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, reexport trade, and increasingly less on uranium, because of declining world demand. The 50% devaluation of the West African franc in January 1994 boosted exports of livestock, cowpeas, onions, and the products of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral and multilateral aid - which was suspended following the April 1999 coup d'etat - for operating expenses and public investment. In 2000-01, the World Bank approved a structural adjustment loan of $105 million to help support fiscal reforms. However, reforms could prove difficult given the government's bleak financial situation. The IMF approved a $73 million poverty reduction and growth facility for Niger in 2000 and announced $115 million in debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. (Source: World Factbook, 2002) Click here for Country Map [23kB]

BI-LATERAL TRADE OVERVIEW Note: Niger was suspended from AGOA at the end of 2009 Trade between Niger and the United States has increased in recent years, as the trade graph suggests. However, this increase has occurred largely as a result of a strong expansion of Niger's imports of U.S. goods, which almost doubled to $ 63 million in 2001 from $ 36 million in 2000. This trend has been reversed somewhat in 2002. As a result, Niger recorded a trade deficit of $ 40 million (2001: $59 million) with the U.S. in 2002. Very few goods are exported by this country to the US. Niger's imports from the U.S. consist of a range of category, dominated in 2002 by capital-intensive goods such as 'chemicals and related products', electronic products', 'transportation equipment' and 'machinery' (see link to Country Trade Profile below). Click here for Detailed Trade Profile