US Government Diminishes Kenya’s Hopes for Bilateral Trade Pact

US President Joe Biden has no plans on negotiating bilateral trade deal between his administration and Kenya. This is after a disclosure made by United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai when she held a virtual meeting with Kenya’s Minister for Industrialization and Trade Betty Maina.

During the virtual meeting, Tai and Maina discussed various issues of mutual importance between Kenya and the US. Biden’s administration is keen on supporting African integration and sustenance of dialogue on key matters.

Biden’s administration supports African integration through African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA) rather than the ‘divisive’ trade deals that were advocated by Trump.

AFCTA has been on course to achieve stronger economic integration among member states, being less dependent and building sustainable value chain in Africa.

Kenya government has been under intense criticism due its efforts of unilateral pursuance of foreign trade agreements to the detriment of regional and continental integration efforts.

Biden’s administration under the guidance of ‘Build Back better’ seeks to prioritize trade as the pivotal turn-around tool to overcome the ruins of Covid-19 pandemic in building America’s economic recovery. The pursuit for domestic trade jeopardizes Kenya’s chance for free trade agreement with the US.

Kenya US Trade Relations

Kenya and United States entered into a trade deal under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which allowed African countries to export their products to the US without quotas or tariffs. Kenya hoped to secure a trade concession after the expiry of the AGOA trade agreement in 2025.

Former US President Donald Trump had announced plans to initiate trade agreement negotiations with the government of Kenya. Trump’s pronouncement came after a holding a meeting with Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta on February 06, 2020.

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