(PHOTO CREDITS: Courtesy DAILY NATION)
Kenya on Wednesday launched talks to seal a free trade agreement with the United States which it hopes will transform its economy, despite criticism it will undermine regional integration.
Trade Minister Betty Maina said striking the bilateral trade agreement was crucial to “secure trade and investment relations” ahead of the lapse of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) in 2025, which eliminates import tariffs on goods from eligible African nations.
Kenya hopes to promote the export of textiles, clothing, tea, coffee and fish to the US – currently Kenya’s third-largest export market and seventh overall trading partner.
More than 70 percent of Kenya’s exports are duty-free under Agoa.
“We estimate that if we can only capture five percent of the US market for these products we could increase our export revenue by more than two trillion shillings ($18.8 billion, 16.5 billion euros),” Maina said.
