Discusses the legal requirements for selling to the host government, including whether the government has agreed to abide by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement. Specifies areas where there are opportunities.

  • Afghanistan is currently the United States’ 91st largest goods trading partner with $1.2 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2018.  U.S. exports to Afghanistan totaled $1.23 billion while imports totaled $29 million, leaving the United States with a $1.2 billion U.S. goods trade surplus in 2018. 

  • Afghanistan maintains a large annual trade deficit (35% of GDP in 2017), relying on aid flows to stabilize balance of payments.  Public debt is low and only a limited amount of concessional borrowing is planned.  However, the IMF assesses Afghanistan to be at high risk of debt distress, as debt sustainability depends upon continued ample grant inflows. 
  • Afghanistan has lost many correspondent-banking relationships in recent years due to risk aversion and lack of profitability despite its removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List in 2017.  The full extent of impact has yet to be quantified, but the unmeasured effects have been a loss in the ease of basic international transactions.
  • Afghanistan’s National Procurement Authority (NPA) (http://www.npa.gov.af/) was created to increase transparency and accountability in the government procurement process.  Through its web page, interested parties can register as bidders in the procurement process and respond to current tenders or RFPs.

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.