The United States has said that it was looking for African countries that would be interested in bilateral free trade agreements with it.
The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade Policy and Negotiation, Peter Haas, told reporters in a teleconference that it was a big deal for the U.S. to be looking towards Africa.
He said, “What we were looking for are African countries that would be interested in having bilateral free trade agreements with us.
“I think one of the things that I would like to point out is that this is a kind of big deal for us, to be looking at countries in Africa for possible free trade agreements.
“We are also targeting meetings with the African Union to discuss the future of the U.S.-Africa trade relationship.
“We will be looking at countries that express interest to determine which ones make sense, both in terms of capacity, readiness, and all of those things.”
Haas, however, said that it was too early to decide or disclose the African country or countries his government might start negotiations with on the proposed bilateral free trade agreements.