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Gabon: United States
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Gabon continues to have one of the highest per capita income figures in sub-Saharan Africa - over US$ 4,000, but its income distribution is extremely skewed and almost half of its citizens live below the poverty line. The economy remains heavily dependent on oil, manganese and timber extraction. Attempts to diversify the economy have met with little success, since investment is hindered by high labor costs, various non-tariff trade barriers, modest incentives in the investment code, and the policies of promoting stability and the status quo above conditions of transparency, competition and change.
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Relations between the United States and Gabon are excellent. In 1987, President Bongo made an official visit to Washington, DC. In September 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell made a brief but historic visit to Gabon to highlight environmental protection and conservation in the Central Africa region. This was followed by a visit to the White House by President Bongo in May 2004. The United States imports a considerable percentage of Gabonese crude oil and manganese and exports heavy construction equipment, aircraft, and machinery to Gabon. Through a modest International Military Education and Training program, the United States provides military training to members of the Gabonese armed forces each year.
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Gabon moved from “partly free” status in 2003 to “not free” in 2007 in the press freedom rankings of the U.S.-based Freedom House. Last year journalist Norbert Ngoua Mezui was jailed on a 2003 “defamation via the press” conviction although the government failed to arrest him at the time.
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During the 1990s, devaluation of the CFA franc left Gabon struggling to pay its overseas debt; France and the IMF have provided further loans and aid in exchange for the implementation of changes to the economy. Gabon's principal trading partners are the United States, China, and Russia for exports while importing mainly from France[3].
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