US remains non-committal on free trade deal with Kenya
3 min read
US has no deadline for concluding free trade negotiations or signing a deal with Kenya past the Agoa expiry
US has no deadline for concluding free trade negotiations or signing a deal with Kenya past the Agoa expiry.
Though Nairobi had originally stated that the talks will be completed by December, the US is uncertain of when the free trade negotiations with Kenya will conclude.
The proposed US-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) does not currently have a timeframe set by the US negotiators, according to Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, who wrapped off her three-day trip in Nairobi on Wednesday.
“In terms of signature and when will we conclude, our focus right now is on substance as opposed to setting an actual deadline,” Ms Tai said in a media briefing in Nairobi.
“There’s a strong motivation on both sides to continue to build trade and economic relationships through these STIP discussions. So I am very encouraged with the engagement that we have had here and we will see how quickly we can move things forward.”
The proposed trade agreement is expected to protect Kenya in the event that the US Congress decides not to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which grants countries in sub-Saharan Africa duty- and quota-free access to the American market, when it expires in 2025. The proposed trade agreement does not include any tariff-related clauses.
Moses Kuria, the cabinet secretary for trade in Kenya, had stated in March that he anticipated the talks to be concluded in December, opening the door for the agreement to be signed by April 2024.
The first round of negotiations on the proposed trade agreement, which will serve as a model for the rest of the sub-Saharan African nations, took place between April 17 and 20 in Nairobi.
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US Trade representative Katherine Tai, who co-led a meeting of the US-East African Community (EAC) Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council on Tuesday, said ongoing discussions on STIP were part of the agenda for her visit to Nairobi.
“The large part of my being here is to enhance engagements and conversations on this strategic and investment partnership,” she said.
“Progress is going very well. I had good conversations with my counterparts and it was part of discussions with President Ruto as well.”
Trade between the two countries is tilted in favour of the US, which exported goods worth Sh93.43 billion last year while buying merchandise valued at Sh79.9 billion from Kenya.
Kenya largely exports articles of apparel under the Agoa pact, while largely importing pharmaceutical products and aircraft from the world’s largest economy.
The ongoing negotiations are a build-up to the bilateral agreement whose terms Kenya and the US started stitching together in July 2022 before the end of former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s term in office.
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