At the Algiers International Fair, the United States Ambassador to Algiers detailed the expectations of American investors regarding the business climate in Algeria.
American investors are interested in Algeria, “one of the largest and most important economic markets in the region” and which constitutes “a gateway to the Maghreb and Sahel regions”, to resume the words of the United States Ambassador to Algiers.
Elisabeth Aubin spoke on Wednesday in a speech delivered on the sidelines of the 53rd edition of the Algiers International Fair, of which her country is the guest of honor.
While noting the potential of the Algerian market and the presence of American companies, Ms. Aubin also mentioned the expectations of investors in her country, particularly concerning the business climate in Algeria.
“There is great potential for a lot more trade and investment,” she said, and that is why the seventh round of negotiations on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement was recently held. (TIFA) between the United States and Algeria, which “provides a strategic framework for dialogue on trade issues between the United States and Algeria”. This round was co-organized by the US Embassy in Algeria and the Algerian Ministry of Commerce.
In her speech, the ambassador dwelt on the remarks made by the American side about the obstacles facing investors. It targeted bureaucracy, regulatory ambiguity and instability, border restrictions, and preferential benefits granted to European Union countries with which Algeria is bound by an association agreement.
“We indicated that to capture more than the imagination of new foreign investors, Algeria must present an attractive reason for them to choose Algeria over other countries in the region,” she said.
“It starts, adds the diplomat, with clear and stable regulations and open borders to integrate into global supply chains”, specifying that American companies are “eagerly waiting” for Algeria to publish important regulations, in particular the law on hydrocarbons published two years ago and the new law on investments.
“Americans don’t bring expatriate planes”
“When companies visit Algeria through our joint promotional efforts, the door should be wide open,” Ms. Aubin said.
“This means that registration processes must be streamlined, bureaucracy must be brought under control and preferential treatment for European competitors reconsidered,” she said.
The other “ vital ” factor, according to her, is the “opening of trade borders” of Algeria. “The supply chains of American companies are fully integrated on a global scale. Even if a US company chooses to maximize local production to serve the Algerian market or Africa as a whole, it will still depend on imports for specific components and services. As Algeria aims to diversify its exports, developing a more liberal trade regime for industrial components and essential services will be a ‘make or break’ factor ,” she explained.
These shortcomings do not mean that American investors are absent in Algeria, quite the contrary. Citing figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the ambassador indicated that the United States represents $6.2 billion of the cumulative stock of foreign direct investment in Algeria, or nearly 28% of all foreign direct investment, while 100 American companies are present in Algeria, 40 of which exhibit at the FIA.
If the American presence is not very visible, it is because, explained the ambassador, “the Americans do not bring planes full of expatriates”, but train Algerian executives who themselves take charge of the management and operation of American companies present in Algeria.
To those who wonder “where are the Americans” , Mrs. Aubin had this answer: “It is the Algerians who roam the floors of the GE factory in Batna, the halls of the offices of Honeywell in Algiers and the fields of the farms from the Atlas to Hassi Messaoud. They drill Occidental’s wells and supply Johnson & Johnson’s cancer drugs.”
