Kenya, US to negotiate comprehensive trade agreement – KBC

The US government has told Congress it plans to negotiate a comprehensive trade agreement with Kenya, promising to engage in ongoing consultations with U.S. lawmakers.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the Trump administration intended to follow procedures set out under a 2015 law, often referred to as Trade Promotion Authority, which ensures lawmakers can play a role in developing U.S. negotiating positions for the talks.

Some Kenyan products enjoy duty-free access to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) deal that expires in the year 2025, which the US government has indicated that it will not renew.

This is because Kenya as a middle-income country will have her exports to the U.S. slapped with taxes when the AGOA deal expires.

This is unlike the other East African countries that will continue accessing the American market on a duty-free basis since they are classified as least developed countries.

To forestall this, Kenya started the process of having in place a comprehensive trade agreement with the U.S. last month during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit.

And on Tuesday, the U.S. government officially notified Congress that it plans to negotiate a comprehensive trade agreement with Kenya as required under the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, commonly referred to as Trade Promotion Authority, which ensures lawmakers play a role in developing U.S. negotiating positions.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the Trump administration intended to follow procedures and promised to engage with U.S. lawmakers in the ongoing consultations.

Last month, Lighthizer said trade negotiations with Kenya, along with Britain and the European Union, were his top priorities for this year.

The United States plans to use the comprehensive trade agreement with Kenya as a template for negotiation of similar deals with other third world countries.

Trade between Kenya and the U.S. was valued at Ksh11 billion in 2019, representing a 4.9 per cent growth from 2018.

Kenya’s top imports from the U.S. comprise aircrafts, plastics, machinery and wheat while key exports to America include apparel, fruits, nuts, coffee, titanium ores and concentrates.