PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release
UNITED STATES EXIM BANK RE-OPENS COMMERCIAL CREDIT LINES TO ZAMBIA’S PRIVATE SECTOR AS PRESIDENT TRUMP SIGNS AGOA EXTENSION THROUGH 2028
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 5th, 2026 –
The Embassy of the Republic of Zambia in Washington, D.C., wishes to announce a monumental double-victory for Zambia’s private sector and export economy, following a formal policy revision by the United States government.
The U.S. Export-Import (EXIM) Bank has officially amended its Country Limitation Schedule (CLS) to re-open credit and insurance facilities for short-term trade transactions within Zambia’s private sector. This long-awaited update follows closely on the heels of the U.S. Congress passing and President Donald J. Trump assenting to the AGOA Extension Act, legally protecting Zambia’s duty-free market access to the United States through December 2028.
A decisive Vote of Confidence commenting on these developments, Zambia’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Ambassador Chibamba Kanyama, stated that the policy synchronization represents an unmistakable validation of Zambia’s ongoing macroeconomic adjustments and structural stability.
“This is a powerful vote of confidence from Washington,” Amb. Kanyama noted.
“By re-opening short-term commercial financing lines and guaranteeing tariff-free market entry via AGOA, the United States is moving beyond the optics of development aid into a framework of deep, production-driven commercial partnership. Our local businesses now possess a direct financial runway to scale up operations.”
The Embassy wishes to highlight the operational mechanics of these policy shifts for the benefit of the Zambian business community:
• Empowering Local Importers: Zambian private enterprises seeking to import specialized equipment, heavy agricultural machinery, medical technology, or raw industrial materials from the United States can now do so with competitive payment terms, as American exporters can fully secure U.S. federal trade insurance to back their contracts.
• The Short-Term Africa Initiative (Note #11b): Zambia’s inclusion under this specialized U.S. treasury initiative ensures that bilateral trade applications are fast-tracked under optimized regional risk parameters designed to aggressively expand sub-Saharan economic corridors.
• Prudent Oversight (Note #1): In line with global practices regarding newly re-opened financing markets, the U.S. EXIM Bank will process applications under initial case-by-case reviews (Note #1) rather than blanket automatic credit approvals. This ensures a transparent, secure, and structured credit portfolio as commercial ties expand.
• The AGOA Industrial Blueprint: With President Trump’s sign-off ensuring tariff-free entry for over 1,800 local commodities through December 2028, Zambian manufacturers are urged to use newly accessible EXIM credit machinery to boost local production capabilities and expand volume output destined for high-value American consumer markets.
Strategic Sectors and Immediate Action Plan, the Embassy projects that the immediate beneficiaries of these coupled credit frameworks will span critical sectors including agriculture, value-added agro-processing, advanced manufacturing, healthcare logistics, and technical infrastructure.
To ensure that local commerce capitalizes on these updates immediately, the Embassy in Washington, D.C., is initiating a coordinated deployment strategy alongside the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) and local commercial banking institutions. The Embassy will host targeted technical brief sessions to guide Zambian entrepreneurs through the exact regulatory blueprints necessary to structure credit applications.
The Embassy remains resolutely committed to ensuring that these administrative policy victories translate directly into domestic industrial expansion, technology transfer, and job creation for the citizens of Zambia.
Issued by
Charles Tembo
First Secretary – Press and Public Relations
Embassy of the Republic of Zambia, Washington, D.C.