KENYA is positive it will be among the first African countries to be considered for tariff and bilateral trade talks with the US when attention shifts to the continent after Europe and Asia.
On July 27, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump agreed a deal on tariffs and trade which includes a new 15 per cent rate for most imports from the EU including cars, pharmaceuticals and apparel under a transatlantic partnership.
US and Chinese officials have also agreed to seek an extension of their 90-day tariff truce after talks in Stockholm aimed at defusing an escalating trade war between the world's two biggest economies that threatens global growth.
President Trump however has the final say on whether to extend a trade truce that expires on August 12 or potentially let tariffs shoot back up to triple-digit figures.
Kenya’s Investment and Trade CS Lee Kinyanjui now says Kenya expects the US will consider the East African economic giant among the first economies to dialogue with the focus shifts to Africa, with Kenya seeking a strategic trade deal and removal of the 10 per cent tariff on her exports to the US.
The country is also among African states seeking an extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which lapses on September 30.
The AGOA Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024 which was introduced by Senators Chris Coons and James Risch sought to extend the bill for 16 years until 2041 and continue to boost Africa’s duty-free status as a means of “attracting private sector investment to help underwrite economic development.”
“They were dealing with Europe and a bit of Asian countries I think we have not quite come to Africa and when that time comes, I think Kenya will be among the first nations…the responsibility of extending AGOA is on their side, so our work is just to wait,” CS Kinyanjui said during a briefing on trade, in Nairobi, on Wednesday evening.
He said Kenya has responded to “all the issues” the US had raised in the stalled trade-talks which is intended to secure a bilateral trade deal between the two countries.
The US has been hard on Kenya on matters corruption and procurement, insiders familiar with the talks told the Star.
This is alongside trade facilitation and enforcement, environment, good regulatory practices, inclusivity and workers’ rights and protections.
The US has also been pushing for transparent and competitive procurement in Kenya's government.
It also wants effective protection of intellectual property rights, favourable sanitary and phytosanitary measures among other interests.
This, as it seeks to secure business for US companies and a comprehensive market access for agricultural goods in Kenya, by reducing or eliminating tariffs.
The US Embassy in Nairobi during a recent interview with the Star confirmed that Washington is open to a trade deal with Kenya, even as it emerges that President Trump's administration could throw out talks that were underway during former President Joe Biden’s term.
Kenya has been among the biggest beneficiaries of AGOA, which it has used to access the US market duty free since the year 2000.
The push to have a bilateral trade deal started during Tump and former Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenures, where talks commenced in July 2020, but a deal has never been struck mainly on changes in office bearers in the two countries over the years.
After the US elections in November 2020, President Joe Bidens’s administration took time to review part of the pact before initiating a fresh round of talks under what became the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP).
Kenya then went into an election in August 2022, which saw President William Ruto ascend to power, with his administration taking over the negotiations as the two administrations agreed to seek the strategic partnership.
According to the US Embassy, “conversations are taking place” for a possible renewal of trade talks between the two countries, albeit under new guidelines.
“Those conversations are taking place but STIP might not be the acronym that it is called. It might be called something different, but I think there are intentions to have those discussions about lifting barriers to trade between the United States and Kenya,” Carla Benini, acting Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S Embassy’s, Nairobi, told the Star.
Meanwhile, Kenya is pushing for deeper ties with countries in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Africa, under the African Continental Free Trade Area, even as the US remain a key market for her textile and apparel exports.
In 2024, Kenya exported goods worth Sh60.57 billion to the US market, representing a 19 per cent increase from the previous year.
