Kenya and the United States on Thursday agreed to initiate trade talks post the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa).
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, agreed to commence talks leading to a trade pact between the two states.
“The two leaders said a new trade pact would help increase trade & investment volumes between the two nations,” said State House Kenya.
President Kenyatta held a meeting with US President @realDonaldTrump at the White House where they agreed to commence talks leading to a trade pact between Kenya & the US. The two leaders said a new trade pact would help increase trade & investment volumes between the two nations pic.twitter.com/27QXBvskGS
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) February 7, 2020
“Kenya is a recognized leader across the continent, an important strategic partner of the United States, and there is enormous potential for us to deepen our economic and commercial ties,” said United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we look forward to negotiating and concluding a comprehensive, high-standard agreement with Kenya that can serve as a model for additional agreements across Africa.”
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USTR intends to seek public input on the “direction, focus and content of the trade negotiations” and will publish U.S. objectives for the talks 30 days before they begin, he said.
Kenyatta on Wednesday said his country was keen to secure its economic future ahead of the expiry of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows sub-Saharan African countries to export thousands of products to the United States without tariffs or quotas until 2025.
