Levan Davitashvili: “Annual trade turnover with the United States amounts to GEL 2.2 billion. The turnover doubled in the first two months of this year alone, reaching USD 0.5 billion.”
Verdict: FactCheck concludes that Levan Davitashvili’s statement is HALF TRUE.
Georgia exported products worth USD 141 million to the United States in 2024 whilst imports reached nearly USD 2.1 billion, pushing total trade turnover above USD 2.2 billion.
Trade turnover has consistently increased since the pandemic – and even before, during 2017-2019 – though primarily driven by imports. Exports rose from USD 132 million to USD 141 million from 2019 to 2024 whereas imports surged from USD 679 million to USD 2.1 billion. Imports have shown steady growth whilst exports have declined as compared to 2021-2022 as well as 2014 and 2018 levels.
Over 90% of imported goods from the US consist of light vehicles, most of which are re-exported. Vehicle imports from the US increased from USD 562 million to USD 1.9 billion between 2021 and 2024 whilst re-exports – primarily to Central Asia and neighbouring countries – rose from USD 457 million to USD 2.4 billion.
Notably, trade turnover did in fact double nominally in January-February 2025, rising from USD 256 million to USD 528 million. However, if one-off factors (particularly the import of paintings and sculptures) are excluded, the growth rate drops to just 5%. Georgia imported USD 9 million worth of paintings and sculptures from all countries combined in 2013-2024; however, imports from the US in this category reached USD 259 million in January 2025 alone. Therefore, this cannot be considered typical economic activity.
It is also worth noting that the three-month trade statistics were published on 22 April whilst Levan Davitashvili referred to two-month data on 24 April. If we compare the first quarter of 2025 to the same period in the previous year, nominal trade turnover increased by 59% but when excluding paintings and sculptures, it actually declined by 3% - from USD 422 million to USD 410 million. Exports alone halved, declining from USD 30 million to USD 15 million.
Given that the presented figures are nominally accurate but fail to consider several important factors, which may lead to a potentially misleading conclusion, FactCheck concludes that Levan Davitashvili’s statement is HALF TRUE.
Analysis
Whilst on a visit to the United States, Levan Davitashvili made a statement during a broadcast on TV Imedi on 24 April (starting at 7:40): “The trade turnover between Georgia and the United States has been growing year over year. Today, it totals USD 2.2 billion. However, we have seen an almost twofold increase based on the data for the first two months of this year, with turnover reaching approximately USD 0.5 billion. Georgia is one of the key destinations for several major American products. These goods enter Georgia and the country functions as a trade hub, from which they are distributed across the South Caucasus, Central Asia and broader regional markets.”
Georgia exported products worth USD 141 million and imported almost USD 2.1 billion worth of products in 2024. As a result, the trade turnover exceeded USD 2.2 billion.
Graph 1: Trade Turnover with the United States (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Levan Davitashvili did not specify the period to which he was referring when discussing trade turnover. Notably, turnover with the US decreased by almost 40% in 2015-2016 as compared to 2014, falling from USD 495 million to USD 299 million, mainly due to a decline in exports. After that, a decrease was only recorded once during the pandemic which can be considered an exception. Trade turnover has been steadily increasing since 2021. It surpassed USD 1 billion for the first time in 2022 and exceeded USD 2 billion in 2023.
The primary driver of trade turnover growth is imports. Whilst exports in 2024 exceeded the 2019 level, they still lag behind the figures from 2021-2022 as well as 2014 and 2018.
The top export product to the US is ferroalloys. Its total share between 2013 and 2024 constitutes 80% and changes in exports are mainly dependent on the dynamics of this product. The share of ferroalloys significantly decreased first to 71% and then to 53% in 2023-2024, although it retained its top position. The situation changed in early 2025 and ferroalloy exports to the US have dropped to zero as of January-March.
Graph 2: Exports to the United States (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
The second-largest export to the US was pipes and tubes, totalling USD 8.4 million, followed by aircraft parts at USD 7.2 million in third place and wine at USD 7.1 million in fourth place.
Wine exports to the US have been steadily increasing. Wine sales recorded increases in terms of both value and volume each year between 2013 and 2024. The export price for one litre of wine to the US amounted to USD 5.96 in 2024 which is twice as high as the average export price (USD 2.91 per litre); however, the US market accounts for only 2.6% in total wine exports (1.3% by volume).
Imports have tripled in contrast to exports which had barely increased by 2024 as compared to the pre-pandemic period (whilst 7% higher than the 2019 figure, it was 12% below the 2018 figure and 32% lower than 2014). The growth in imports is mainly linked to light vehicles. The share of light vehicles imported from the US increased even further from 2023 to 2024, surpassing 90%.
Graph 3: Imports from the United States (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Light vehicles surpassed the second-ranked import – walnuts and hazelnuts (imported for USD 23 million) by 83 times in 2024.
A significant portion of light vehicles is subsequently re-exported. The growth in imports in 2022 and especially in 2023-2024 is primarily linked to re-exports. Re-exports of light vehicles amounted to USD 457 million in 2021, which had doubled by 2022, reaching USD 906 million. Re-exports of light vehicles exceeded USD 2.1 billion in 2023 and USD 2.4 billion in 2024. The primary market for re-exports have been the countries in Central Asia, specifically Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Levan Davitashvili confirmed the existence of re-exports but he mentioned “several large American products;” although, there is really one such product, not several, considering the scale.
Levan Davitashvili also discussed the current year, noting that trade turnover between Georgia and the US has doubled in the first two months. The trade turnover amounted to USD 256 million in January-February 2024 whereas in January-February 2025, it increased by 106%, reaching USD 528 million. Whilst trade turnover has indeed doubled in nominal terms, there is one important detail that changes the context. Trade turnover would have been USD 269 million, reflecting a 5% increase, when excluding the import of paintings and sculptures.
Graph 4: Trade Turnover with the United States (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Why should paintings and sculptures not be considered? The total import of paintings and sculptures from all over the world amounted to only USD 9.2 million between 2013 and 2024, yet the import from the US alone was 28 times greater in January 2025, reaching USD 259 million. It is clear that this is a one-time factor and does not fall under typical economic activity.
Graph 5: Import of Paintings and Sculptures (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Another important detail: data on Georgia’s foreign trade for the first quarter had already been published two days earlier (on 22 April by GeoStat) at the time Levan Davitashvili made his statement, yet he still referred to the first two months. Notably, the growth rate is lower (59%) according to the January-March data, even including the import of paintings and sculptures. Moreover, trade turnover actually declined by 3% when excluding this one-off factor, decreasing from USD 422 million to USD 410 million. Furthermore, exports have halved – Georgia sold goods worth USD 29.9 million to the US in the first quarter of 2024 and USD 14.8 million in the same period of 2025. The reason is once again ferroalloys. Ferroalloys worth USD 19.6 million were exported to the US in the first quarter of last year, accounting for 66% of total exports and ranking first. No ferroalloys were sold to the US at all in January-March 2025.
Graph 6: Trade Turnover with the United States (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Georgia and the US have been negotiating a free trade agreement for years but so far without success. A 10% tariff was imposed on Georgian products under a decision by President Trump in April. Whilst this does increase the cost of Georgian goods, it may still offer a relative competitive advantage, considering that most other countries were subjected to even higher tariffs. Only a few weeks have passed since the new tariffs came into effect, making it impossible to assess their impact through trade data as of now. It is also important to note that tariffs are subject to frequent changes and exemptions can be introduced for specific products, making forecasting outcomes even more difficult, if not impossible.
The figures cited by Levan Davitashvili are nominally accurate. Trade turnover with the US exceeded USD 2.2 billion in 2024 which had doubled in the first two months of the current year as compared to the same period last year. However, the aforementioned increase was primarily driven by imports intended for re-exports whilst exports remain below the 2021-2022 levels, as well as the pre-pandemic years of 2014 and 2018. The doubling in early 2025 is entirely attributable to one-off factors. Rather than an increase, there is actually a 3% decrease in turnover and exports have halved, according to first-quarter data. Given that the presented figures are nominally accurate but fail to consider several important factors, which may lead to a potentially misleading conclusion, FactCheck concludes that Levan Davitashvili’s statement is HALF TRUE.
