Liberian exports mostly to the US and EU countries. Rubber dominates Liberian exports, followed by gold, diamonds, coffee, and cocoa. Imports include petroleum products, food, beverages, cigarettes, manufactured items, lubricants, and chemicals. South Korea, China, and Japan are major importers.
Liberia – Germany
Germany and Liberia have a long history of bilateral connections. In 1855 (after the United Kingdom), the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg recognized Liberia’s independence and established a joint consulate in Monrovia.
The German Embassy in Monrovia reopened in 2005 after closure in 1990 owing to the civil war. During President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning stint in office, bilateral relations grew stronger (visits include that by Chancellor Merkel to Liberia in 2007 and the visits to Germany by Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf in 2008 and 2015).
Liberia is a partner country in German development assistance, which is mostly focused on infrastructure development. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is assisting the Liberian government in the rehabilitation of the country’s transportation sector, the governance of raw materials, renewable energies, and the healthcare sector on behalf of the German government. The Ta-Sapo National Park (which also involves Côte d’Ivoire) is the subject of environmental cooperation.
China- Liberia
The bilateral ties between the People’s Republic of China and Liberia are referred to as People’s Republic of China–Liberia relations. Official contacts began in 1977 but were severed several times before being reestablished subsequently. As of 2009, China had invested heavily in Liberia and provided major foreign aid.
Approximately 68 Chinese government development finance projects were found in Liberia between 2000 and 2011, according to various media reports. These projects range from restoring and building the University of Liberia’s Fendell Campus for Engineering to a US$10 million contract with the Liberian government for the construction of a 100-bed hospital in Nimba County in 2008.
The Chinese embassy in Monrovia began offering Chinese language classes to Liberians in October 2009. The need for such courses arose as a result of increased economic ties and a complete dearth of Chinese speakers among Liberians. Liberians wanted to work and study in China in the future.
Switzerland- Liberia
Switzerland has developed a Sub-Saharan Africa strategy for the years 2021–24.
Liberia and Switzerland agreed in 2011 to eliminate Liberia’s debt to Switzerland. During the Ebola outbreak in the Mano River region from 2014 to 2016, Switzerland financed emergency response efforts totaling over CHF 30 million. Liberia received the majority of the funding.
During Liberia’s civil conflict in the 1990s, Switzerland helped the country with humanitarian supplies. It helped the country’s rehabilitation in the areas of health, infrastructure, food security, and civilian protection from 2004 to 2016. The return of refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as their long-term reintegration, were two of Switzerland’s top concerns.
Liberia – USA
Liberia has three trade and investment agreements with the US, all of which provide duty-free and preferential trade benefits to the country. The United States has a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. Under special access and tariff reduction schemes like the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the African Growth and Opportunity Act, it has privileged access to the US market (AGOA). For enterprises wishing to export under AGOA, the Liberia Chamber of Commerce is the point of contact.
Liberia has ratified several investment-related instruments (IRIs), including the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Convention, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID Convention), the New York Convention, the United Nations (UN) Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the International Labor Organization (ILO) Tripartite Declarations on Multinational Enterprises, and the United Nations (UN) Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations. The Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States and the UN Resolution on Permanent Sovereignty are two more international agreements. Liberia has a free trade agreement with the EU – an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) – with other ECOWAS member states, which gradually extends the EU market to ECOWAS members. It also has a comprehensive timber trading agreement with the EU, known as the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), that aims to reduce illicit logging and strengthen forest sector governance.
