The United States is reviewing the bilateral agreement with Kenya according to a statement from the Office of the US Trade Representative.
The statement was issued on Friday after U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s virtual meeting with Kenyan Minister of Industrialization, Trade, and Enterprise Development Betty Maina.
Tai disclosed that the Kenya-US Free Trade Agreement must reflect the priorities of the Biden-Harris administration’s Build Back Better agenda.
“They also discussed the bilateral trade negotiations conducted under the previous administration. Ambassador 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.
It was a great pleasure to meet with @AmbassadorTai the United States Trade Representativie to take stock of our strategic relationship and trade. I welcome the invitation to work together on shaping mutually beneficial trade relations between Africa and the US post Agoa
— Betty C Maina (@maina_betty) April 1, 2021
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.
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.
