Private sector players are looking to capitalise on trade with the US as the country works towards a bilateral trade deal with the first-world country.
The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) in partnership with the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) yesterday hosted a roundtable discussion with business leaders and state officials from both nations.
The forum was aimed at exploring ways in which the private sector can take full advantage of investment and trade opportunities that will arise from a Kenya-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.
"It is an opportunity for the private sectors of both the U.S. and Kenya to deepen trade and investment ties in key sectors from energy to banking, construction, ICT/digital trade, health, manufacturing and services trade," CCA president and CEO Florizelle Liser said yesterday.
This follows President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to the US where he and his counterpart POTUS Donald Trump announced the commencement of talks aimed at establishing a trade pact between the two Nations.
During the forum, Kepsa CEO Carole Kariuki noted the proposed trade deal provided Kenya an opportunity to do better in terms of increasing exports to the US.
She added that a FTA between Kenya and the USA would inadvertently lead to growth of businesses in the country, boosting the local economy.
“Kenya should draw lessons from Morocco on the challenges and opportunities that are emerging with the free trade agreement between them and the US in order to learn and eventually do better,” she said.
Currently, trade between Kenya and the US stands at about Sh100 billion a year with over 70 per cent of Kenya's export into the expansive American market in 2018, worth Sh46.6 billion, entering under African Growth and Opportunity (AGOA).
Sub-Saharan Africa countries (Kenya included) have been trading with the US under the AGOA pact signed in 2000, which is expected to expire in the next five years.
The trade pact allows African states duty-free exports on a select list of 6,421 goods, provided they meet certain stringent conditions.
During the meeting, State Department of Trade PS Amb. Johnson Weru lauded the private sector for joining hands with the government.
“As we speak there is a government team that is also dissecting the deliberations that took place in Washington last week. Kenya has a great appetite for this opportunity,” he said.
While Kenya has come under fire for bypassing rules governing the new African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in the proposed trade deal with the US, the US Ambassador to Kenya, Kyle McCarter said the pact would not only benefit Kenya but the continent at large.
“A successful U.S.-Kenya FTA will stand as a landmark for East Africa and for all of Africa,” he said.
