Kenya: Kenyan authorities hope to sign a trade agreement with the USA by April 2024

The Kenyan authorities hope to sign a trade agreement with the USA by April 2024. This is reported by the Reuters media on March 23, citing the Ministry of Commerce.

With its American partner, the East African country has started negotiations which should lead to an agreement in principle at the end of the year. Nairobi hopes, through this new agreement, to revitalize trade and encourage investment from the United States in various sectors of its economy.

It has also benefited, for 23 years, from the AGOA program (Africa Growth and Opportunity Act), a US trade law that promotes access to the US market for eligible sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. AGOA has since been renewed until 2025.

“The agreement will not be about tariffs, but will complement AGOA and cushion the blow for Kenya if the program is not extended,” said Moses Kuria, Minister of Commerce.

In 2020, under President Trump, negotiations were started for a free trade agreement between the two nations to lower tariffs. However, the Biden administration did not resume those talks, but instead opted for “a non-tariff partnership aimed at strengthening labor and production standards in Kenyan economic sectors, such as agriculture and digital services, so as to facilitate American trade and investment”.

The Kenyan economy is one of the most diversified and dynamic in East Africa, of which it processes a large part of the commercial flow, through the port of Mombasa. The United States is the main destination of the country’s exports and the seventh source of its imports.

According to the International Trade Center, trade between the two countries amounted to $1.5 billion in 2022.