Kenya And The US To Restart Negotiations For Free Trade

Kenya and the United States are keen to restart negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement in the wake of the new tariffs regime announced by President Trump, new US Trade Representative Jamieson Green has told the US Congress.

Although Kenya was slapped with a 10% tariff which is lower than most countries affected by the Trump move, other countries are rushing to start Bilateral Trade negotiations with the Trump Administration to mitigate the effects of the tariffs, a move that will affect Kenyan Exports to the US especially the dominant textile and apparels negatively.

Ambassador Green confirmed that he met Kenyan Trade Minister Lee Kinyanjui in Washington DC last week and that the two countries are willing to work together to restart the FTA Negotiations.

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Republican Congressman Adran Smith who chairs the Trade Subcommittee within the powerful ways and means Committee of the Congress blamed the Joe Biden Administration for stalling the progress of FTA negotiations with Kenya and the US; particularly saying it was discouraging noting that Kenya had offered to set an example to other AGOA Beneficiary Countries on how to set up Bilateral agreements of their own.

Former Trade Minister Moses Kuria and former US Trade Representative Katherine Tai set up this ‘Kenya and America First’ approach to Bilateral Trade negotiations, a move that Congressman Smith observed would have gone a long way to encourage other AGOA Countries had those efforts not have been allowed to fade.

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