Senegal Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in senegal, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Total U.S.-Senegalese bilateral trade has increased over the past 10 years. The United States generally runs a trade surplus with Senegal. According to U.S. Trade Representative Data, in 2024 the United States exported $350.9 million worth of goods to Senegal, an increase of 0.8 percent ($2.8 million) from 2023; U.S. imports from Senegal in 2024 were $235.1 million, an increase of 48.1 percent ($76.4 million) from 2023. The United States had a $115.7 million trade surplus with Senegal in 2024, a 38.9 percent decrease ($73.6 million) over 2023. As shown in the chart below, the top five U.S. exports to Senegal in 2022 were other products (32 percent), transportation equipment (24 percent), oil and gas (18 percent), used or secondhand merchandise (15 percent), and chemicals (11 percent). Within the category of other products, the major exports were machinery, except electrical, other products, other special classification, computer and electronic products, plastics and rubber products and fabricated metal products. The top five imports from Senegal were food and kindred products (38 percent), miscellaneous commodities (28 percent), minerals and ores (24 percent), chemicals (6 percent), and others (4 percent).  

The framework agreement with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Senegal is a member, aims to create a regional free-trade zone. However, the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization System, approved in 1979, has yet to be fully implemented. Senegal adopted and implemented the ECOWAS Common External Tariff System and generally imposes tariffs in a transparent and rules-based way. Senegal has signed and ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which entered into force on May 30, 2019. The AfCFTA is the largest free trade pact after the World Trade Organization. The World Bank reported in 2022 the pact connects 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined GDP valued at $3.4 trillion.

In recent years, Senegal has become a hub of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in West Africa.  In 2023, FDI totaled $2.64 billion, including approximately $58 million from the United States. This marks a 2.1 percent increase from $2.586 billion of total FDI and a 56.76 percent increase from $37 million U.S. direct investment in 2022.  France is historically Senegal’s largest source of foreign direct investment, but China has also become a significant foreign investment partner. Other important investment partners include the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, Morocco, Turkey, and the Gulf States.

 

 

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