President Kenyatta will be travelling to the United States next week seeking to expand and deepen trade relations.
Bloomberg reports that the US and Kenya will announce a free trade deal in the coming week, a first in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Furthermore, the agreement will be a guiding model for future deals that the US signs with other Sub-Saharan Africa nations.
Read Also: US-Kenya agree on bolstering ties on trade & infrastructure
The US extended the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for ten years in 2015, allowing 39 Sub-Saharan Africa countries duty free access to the US markets. There are about 6500 products ranging from textiles to manufactured items.
Therefore, the new agreement with Kenya will set precedence for future deals when the AGOA period expires in 2025.
Kenya is America’s 11th largest trading partner in Africa with total trade in 2018 amounting to KSh112 billion.
According to the US Trade Representative office, the US goods trade deficit with Kenya was Ksh27.9 billion ($279m) in 2018. US exports include aircrafts, machinery, planting seeds, electrical machinery, and vegetable oils. The US exported goods worth Ksh36.5 billion in 2018.
On the other hand, Kenya exports woven apparel, edible fruit and nut, coffee, tea & spice, unroasted coffee, and tree nuts. The US goods imports from Kenya totalled Ksh64.4 billion in 2018.
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