U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with North Macedonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Timčo Mucunski, in Washington, where they discussed bilateral relations and trade.
According to the U.S. State Department, the meeting highlighted the “strong relationship between the United States and North Macedonia and underscored shared interests in regional stability, economic cooperation, and NATO.”
The State Department also noted that the two diplomats discussed opportunities to expand economic cooperation, including “trade and investments.”
Meanwhile, Mucunski stated that his Washington meeting with Rubio reaffirmed the cooperation between the two countries, which, according to him, is based on shared values, “political interests, and long-standing friendship.”
“I expressed the Macedonian Government’s commitment to advancing political dialogue with the U.S., as well as a concrete commitment to institutionalize the strategic partnership through the implementation of the Joint Action Plan,” he wrote on Facebook.
Washington and Skopje deepened their relations in 2022 with the launch of the Strategic Dialogue, focusing on strengthening bilateral partnership.
Mucunski said they also discussed trade relations, lowering tariffs, and initiating the process for signing a free trade agreement.
North Macedonia was among the countries hit with a 10% base tariff and an additional 33% tariff on Macedonian imports. Trump announced these tariffs in April of this year.
“In this regard, I emphasized the Macedonian Government’s readiness to promote economic cooperation, attract American investments, and increase the presence of U.S. companies in our country,” he said.
The U.S. is seeking to reach special free trade agreements with countries that have a trade surplus with Washington.
