Ethiopia, US Hold Talks about Expanding Trade, Enhancing Trade Balance

Addis Ababa, March 28, 2026 (ENA) — Ethiopia and the United States have held fruitful discussions about expanding bilateral trade and enhancing the trade balance to further strengthen their long-standing economic cooperation, according to Trade and Regional Integration Minister Kassahun Gofe.

In a social media he posted today, the Minister said the Ethiopian delegation in Yaoundé, Cameroon, held a fruitful discussion with Ambassador Joseph Barloon, Deputy USTR and Permanent Representative of the United States to the WTO.

He wrote that bilateral trade between the countries has continued to grow, reaching approximately USD 1.5 billion in 2024, and the officials discussed about ways to expand this further while enhancing the trade balance.

‘‘I emphasized that Ethiopia highly values this relationship and sees considerable scope to deepen cooperation, particularly in trade and investment,’’ Kassahun said.

At the same time, Ethiopia remains fully committed to concluding its WTO accession expeditiously, and we agreed to finalize the bilateral market access negotiations as soon as possible, he added.

Furthermore, a shared understanding has been reached to conclude bilateral market access negotiations promptly as Ethiopia works diligently to expedite its WTO accession.

Ethiopia and the United States share over 120 years of diplomatic relations, grounded in mutual respect, shared interests and economic cooperation.