The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 6500, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Extension Act, in a decisive 340-54 vote.
- •Sponsored by Representative Jason Smith and reviewed by the House Ways and Means Committee, the legislation extends trade preferences for eligible sub-Saharan African countries.
- •The African Growth and Opportunity Act, first enacted in 2000, provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. market for thousands of products.
- •The extension might clash with President Donald Trump's administration for country by country deals, which has been going since Washington imposed tariffs on all other countries and territories in April 2025.
“AGOA has been Kenya’s competitive edge. Without it, we risk losing a critical driver of growth, and Kenya’s seat at the global manufacturing table could disappear, erasing 25 years of progress. Securing its extension is an urgent national priority to protect jobs, factories, and livelihoods,” Pankaj Bedi, Chair of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) sector at the Kenya Association of Manufacturers.
In April 2025, President Trump imposed a flat 10% tariff on Kenyan goods in response to trade barriers cited by American firms trading with Kenyan and tariffs imposed on goods from USA.
Over the years, AGOA has been credited with boosting African exports, creating jobs, and encouraging economic reforms. In Kenya, the act has been a cornerstone of the apparel industry, supporting over 66,000 direct jobs and hundreds of thousands of livelihoods indirectly.
“Investors set up in Kenya to access the US duty-free. Competing against Bangladesh, Vietnam, or Egypt without it is untenable. AGOA has been our competitive edge. Without it, we risk losing a critical driver of growth, and Kenya’s seat at the global manufacturing table could disappear, erasing 25 years of progress," Bedi added.
With House approval, H.R. 6500 now moves to the Senate for consideration. Stakeholders in Kenya hope for swift ratification to safeguard the apparel sector, a key pillar of the nation’s industrial growth and employment.
What US Tariffs Mean for Kenya's Trade
Tariff Tensions and Trade Shifts are Reshaping Global Supply Chains
Global Trade Withstands Tariff Turbulence –DHL Global Connectedness Tracker, 2025 Special Update
