Economy Minister: Georgia-US trade relations entering “new phase”

Trade relations between Georgia and the United States are entering a “new phase”, Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili said after his meeting with Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative, on Monday.

Davitashvili said Georgia "will play a special role for the United States in terms of cooperation in the [South Caucasus] region" in the light of the “new problems” revealed for international logistics and supply chains.

The United States is in the process of developing a new trade policy. We were asked to take an active part [in this process] as strategic partners," Davitashvili said.

• Georgian Economy Minister in talks on free trade deal prospect with US

The Minister also said in his meetings US officials had “praised” Georgia's progress in improving labour legislation and bringing it closer to European standards, "which will increase the sustainability of the Georgian economy".

Davitashvili met with Tai as part of his visit to the US to discuss the prospects of establishing a free trade deal between the countries.

At the meeting, the US official noted the trade policy agenda of the US focused on exporting more products, creating more jobs and expanding economic growth opportunities. The Georgian side noted it would be important to improve bilateral trade through a free trade agreement in this context.