09/06/2026
The U.S.-DRC commercial relationship is growing faster than the institutional infrastructure that supports it.
U.S.-DRC goods and services trade reached an estimated $2.5 billion in 2025. In the first seven months of 2026 alone, U.S. goods imports from the DRC reached $2.123 billion, while U.S. exports to the DRC were only $120.8 million, highlighting both the momentum and the imbalance in the relationship.
In our latest CIG Policy Paper, From Friction to Scale, we examine what Washington and Kinshasa can do to make legitimate U.S.-DRC business easier, faster, cheaper and less risky.
The paper focuses on the practical infrastructure required to support a deeper commercial relationship: financial connectivity, correspondent banking, compliance clarity, customs and tax predictability, project preparation, investment protection and financing.
CIG outlines an illustrative path from a 2025 bilateral trade base of roughly $2.5 billion toward $7-10 billion in annual trade under a commercial normalization scenario, and potentially $15-25 billion under a deeper strategic partnership spanning critical minerals, energy, infrastructure, agriculture and services.
Disclaimer: These scenarios are not forecasts. They illustrate the scale of what could become possible if both countries build the institutional architecture required for credible businesses, capital and projects to move between them at scale.
