Biden To Review Trump’s Trade Pact With Kenyatta

The administration of President Joe Biden is in the process of reviewing the bilateral agreement with Kenya to make sure that it “aligns with their administration.”

The U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s had a virtual meeting with Kenyan Minister of Industrialization, Trade, and Enterprise Development Betty Maina.

“They also discussed the bilateral trade negotiations conducted under the previous administration. Tai highlighted her ongoing review of the negotiations to ensure that any agreement aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s Build Back Better agenda,” part of the statement read.

The Kenya-US FTA will replace the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa) which is set to expire in 2025. However, the negotiations that commenced July 2020 came to a halt in November for the US elections.

According to the U.S. Trade Representative, trade between the United States and Kenya stands at about $1 billion per year.

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According to its Proposed Kenya – United States of America Free Trade Area Agreement Negotiation Principles, Objectives, And Scope, its specific objective is to ensure that there is no disruption of Kenya’s market access into the USA after AGOA expires on September 30, 2025.

Under AGOA, Kenya exported to the USA goods valued at USD 661 million in 2018, up from USD 588 million in 2017. This ranks the USA among the top three export destinations in the world.

The review is coming at a time Kenyans are mounting pressure on the government of Jubilee to ensure that the agreement it signs with other countries has the interests of the people of Kenya. The bilateral agreement between Kenya and the United Kingdom gave the UK the right to export goods to Kenya tax-free for more than 20 years.

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