US-Albania Trade Rises as Partner Makes Use of GSP Program

U.S.-Albania trade rose 59 percent, to $190.8 million, from 2014 to 2015, and Albanian companies last year exported $2.9 million worth of goods under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), an official from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in remarks May 11 during the WTO’s second review of the country’s trade policy and practices (here). The official noted that Albania has switched to a digital system for customs and border compliance, streamlining import processing and “substantially” reducing fees, and lauded the country for ratifying the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on May 10 (see 1605100010).