Kenya is among the countries across the world hit by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs in what his administration says is a move to correct the country’s trade imbalance, including both the trade deficit and trade barriers.
- •From April 9th, goods from Kenya will attract 10% tariff in response to trade barriers cited by American firms trading with Kenyan and tariffs imposed on goods from USA.
- •On Wednesday, Trump declared that foreign trade and economic practices have created a national emergency, and his order imposes responsive tariffs to strengthen the international economic position of the country and protect its workers.
- •Kenya exported goods worth KSh 5.8 billion to the US in January, and imported goods worth KSh 8.55 billion from the North American country.
“President Trump will impose an individualized reciprocal higher tariff on the countries with which the United States has the largest trade deficits. All other countries will continue to be subject to the original 10% tariff baseline,” The White House said in a statement.
It’s unclear whether the AGOA preferential trade law, which is due to expire later this year, will apply. It is more likely that the blanket tariff represents an entirely new trade regime, which would supersede such preferential agreements. In his first term (2016-2020), the Trump administration and Kenya begun but did not complete free trade agreement negotiations.
“These tariffs will remain in effect until such a time as President Trump determines that the threat posed by the trade deficit and underlying nonreciprocal treatment is satisfied, resolved, or mitigated,” White House said.
According to the 2025 National Trade Estimate Report, Kenya applies the East African Community (EAC) Customs Union’s Common External Tariff (CET), with four tariff bands: 0% duty for raw materials and inputs, 10% duty for processed or manufactured inputs, 25% duty for finished products, and 35% for a list of products the EAC concluded would promote regional integration and domestic industrial sectors.
“Among the imports that are impacted by the 35 percent fourth tariff band are U.S. exports of secondhand clothing and environmentally cleaner cooking products,” the report which highlights trade barriers faced faced by American traders with Kenya notes.
“Many textiles and agricultural products are classified as “sensitive items” under the EAC and as a result are subject to ad valorem tariff rates above 35 percent. This includes rates of 50 percent for some textiles, 60 percent for most milk products, 50 percent for corn and corn flour, 75 percent for rice flour, 50 percent for wheat flour, and 100 percent for sugar,” the US Trade Representative says in the report.
The US companies have also raised concerns about the length of time required for Kenyan Customs to release shipments, as well as the use of a complex and inefficient process that involves many steps with uncoordinated offices, despite implementation of a single window system.
The companies have commented that Kenya’s one-stop customs clearance system does not operate as intended and that prearrival processing of electronic documents is ineffective. Other U.S. companies have raised concerns about the inconsistent application of classification and valuation decisions, as well as unnecessary transit inspections as part of trade barriers.
