The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 brought an end to the Cold War and created the opportunity for bilateral relations of the United States with Armenia and other New Independent States (NIS) as they began a political and economic transformation. The United States recognized the independence of Armenia on December 25, 1991, and opened an embassy in the capital city of Armenia, Yerevan in February 1992.

The United States has made a concerted effort to help Armenia and other NIS during their difficult transition from authoritarianism and a command economy to democracy and open markets. The cornerstone of this continuing partnership has been the Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets (FREEDOM) Support Act, enacted in October 1992. Under this and other programs, the United States to date has provided nearly $2 billion in humanitarian and technical assistance for Armenia.

On March 27, 2006, Armenia signed a Millennium Challenge Compact with the United States; the agreement entered into force on September 29, 2006. Provided the Armenian Government makes progress on mutually agreed-upon policy performance criteria (corruption, ruling justly, and investing in people), the agreement will provide $235 million to Armenia over five years to reduce rural poverty through the improvement of rural roads and irrigation networks. In 2012 or 2013, the United States and Armenia are planning to hold their first-ever joint military drills, during which Armenian soldiers will be trained for their current multi-national peacekeeping operations.

According to the 2016 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 42% of Armenians approve of U.S. leadership, with 31% disapproving and 27% uncertain.

On April 24, 2021, the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, US President Joe Biden referred to the Armenian genocide as "genocide" in a statement released by the White House.

United States–Armenia economic relations

In 1992, Armenia signed three agreements with the United States affecting trade between the two countries. The agreements were ratified by the Armenian parliament in September 1995 and entered into force in the beginning of 1996. They include an "Agreement on Trade Relations", an "Investment Incentive Agreement", and a treaty on the "Reciprocal Encouragement and Protection of Investment" (generally referred to as the Bilateral Investment Treaty, or BIT). Armenia does not have a bilateral taxation treaty with the United States. The 1994 Law on Foreign Investment governs all direct investments in Armenia, including those from the United States.

Approximately 70 American-owned firms currently do business in Armenia, including Dell, Microsoft, and IBM. Recent major American investment projects include the Hotel Armenia/Marriott; the Hotel Ani Plaza; Tufenkian Holdings (carpet and furnishing production, hotels, and construction); several subsidiaries of U.S.-based information technology firms, including Viasphere Technopark, an IT incubator; Synopsys; a Greek-owned Coca-Cola bottling plant; jewelry and textile production facilities; several copper and molybdenum mining companies; and the Hovnanian International Construction Company.

U.S. government-funded agencies involved in Armenian economic institutions

The U.S. continues to work closely with international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to help Armenia in its transition to a free-market economy. Armenia has embarked upon an ambitious reform program, which has resulted in a double-digit GDP growth for the last 6 years. U.S. economic assistance programs, primarily under the administration of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have three objectives: to promote sustainable private sector economic growth, to strengthen non-executive governmental systems and civil society to build a more robust democracy, and to ensure a smooth transition towards primary healthcare and the rationalization of social support systems of the government. Other agencies, including the Departments of State, Agriculture, Treasury, Defense, Commerce, Energy, Justice, and the Peace Corps sponsor various assistance projects. The United States-Armenia Task Force, established in 2000, is a bilateral commission that meets every 6 months to review the progress and objectives of U.S. assistance to Armenia. The last meeting was held in Washington, D.C., in October 2007.

Specific USAID programs focus on private sector competitiveness and workforce development in selected industries, including information technology and tourism; development of the financial sector and fiscal authorities to achieve an enabling environment for businesses; and reforms promoting the efficient and safe use of energy and water; democracy and good governance programs, including the promotion of a well-informed and active civil society, support to decentralization of authority, independent justice sector and the parliament to ensure the separation of power; social sector reform, including benefits and public services administration for vulnerable populations; health sector reform, including improvement of primary healthcare (PHC) services with an emphasis on preventive care; strengthening of reproductive, maternal, and child healthcare countrywide to ensure access to quality PHC services in rural areas; public education programs; and training for PHC providers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Caucasus Agricultural Development Initiative provides targeted and sustained technical and marketing assistance to small and medium-sized agribusinesses, farmer-marketing associations, and the Government of Armenia. USDA's goal is to sustain the productivity of the agricultural sector by expanding access to markets and credit, increasing efficiency, and modernizing agriculture systems. USDA's priority assistance areas are farm credit, food safety and animal health, support to the Armenian private sector through the NGO CARD. Also, as a training component of USDA projects in Armenia, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cochran Fellowship Program provides training to Armenian agriculturists in the United States.

U.S. humanitarian assistance

Before Armenia even became an independent country, the United States was one of the 74 countries that responded by sending aid to the Armenians who had lost their homes and were living in temporary shelters. Through its aid, the U.S. managed to give permanent housing to about 30,000 victims and cleared displaced residents from over 100 buildings.

Over the past 16 years, the U.S. has provided nearly $2 billion in assistance to Armenia, the highest per capita amount in the NIS. Humanitarian aid originally accounted for up to 85% of this total, reflecting the economic paralysis caused by closed borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, destruction in northern Armenia left from the devastating 1988 earthquake and the closure of most of the country's factories.

As conditions in Armenia have improved with the stabilization of the economy and increased energy production—including the restarting of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant near the capital—U.S. assistance programs have progressed from humanitarian priorities to longer-term development goals.

On May 25, 2017, the ANCA issued a statement against Donald Trump's budget, which would cut 69.6% of the aid to Armenia. The ANCA stated, "We are Troubled by Trump's Ill-Advised and Misguided Proposal to Cut Aid to Armenia".

U.S. government-funded agency involvement in Armenian politics and media

Technical assistance and training programs have been provided in municipal administration, intergovernmental relations, public affairs, foreign policy, diplomatic training, rule of law, and development of a constitution. Specific programs are targeted at promoting elections that meet international standards, strengthening political parties, and promoting the establishment of an independent judiciary and independent media. This includes financing for programs that support civil society organizations, local non-governmental organizations (NGO) capacity building, National Assembly professional development, and local and community-level governance.

State Department and USAID educational exchange programs claim to play an important role in supporting democratic and free-market reforms. Assistance in the translation and publication of printed information also has been provided. Exchange programs in the U.S. for Armenian lawyers, judges, political party members, business people, government officials, NGO activists, journalists, and other public figures focus on a range of topics, including the American judicial and political system, privatization, specific business sectors, the media, and civil society. The State Department has funded an ongoing project to provide Internet connectivity to schools at various levels throughout the country; these centers provide both educational and community-building opportunities.

USAID has funded international and domestic groups to monitor national elections. USAID also has funded programs to educate voters and to strengthen the role of an array of civic organizations in the democratic process.

Armenian Genocide

The Armenian genocide was the systematic mass extermination of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks from 1915-1923. The Turkish government has since instituted a century-long campaign of denial, despite there being an overwhelming and abundant international scholarly consensus of the reality of the genocide. The United States had historically been uneasy to anger its NATO ally, Turkey, by recognizing the genocide, as Turkey has diplomatically retaliated against nations such as France, Germany, and Italy after they each formally recognized the genocide in their respective parliaments.

On October 29, 2019, the US House of Representative voted 405-11 in favor of recognition, and the Senate followed on December 12, 2019, passing an identical resolution unanimously. These identical resolutions (H.Res. 296 and S.Res. 150) state that it is the policy of the United States to recognize and officially commemorate the Armenian Genocide, to deny association of the US government with denial of the genocide, encourage education and public understanding of the Armenian genocide and emphasize the humanitarian relief effort led by the United States in the form of the Near East Relief to the victims of genocide.

On the 106th year of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, 46th President of the United States Joe Biden officially recognised the Armenian Massacres as Genocide.

Trade relations

Following Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union in 1992, the United States established diplomatic relations with the country. The US supports Armenia in many of its endeavours such as a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, reopen the closed borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey, and promote regional prosperity. The US has many trade agreements with Armenia such as the trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA), and an agreement on trade relations, and a bilateral investment treaty (BAT). The US and Armenia frequently convene over the U.S.-Armenia joint economic task force (USATF) to discuss mutual economic and governmental concerns.