Moses Kuria Holds Talks with US Trade Rep. Katherine Tai in Washington

Investments, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria on Tuesday held talks with United States Trade Representative Amb. Katherine Tai and her deputy Amb. Sarah Bianchi ahead of the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington, DC.

In a statement, Kuria said they discussed plans to begin expert engagements on issues they had earlier identified during their virtual meeting including expanding bilateral trade, the inclusion of women and youth in trade, supporting micro, small and medium enterprises as well as advancing the African Continental Free Trade integration.

“We also discussed expectations for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) ministerial meeting that Ambassador Tai will be hosting later today with counterparts from AGOA beneficiary countries, senior officials of African regional economic institutions and members of congress,” Kuria added.

Kenya and the US have been in negotiations for a fully-fledged free trade agreement (FTA) that will serve as a benchmark for future trade engagements between the US and other African countries.

In July, Kenya and the US agreed on 10 key areas of collaboration including agriculture, anti-corruption, digital economy, environment, climate change, transparency, good regulatory practices, MSMEs, workers’ rights and youth and women participation. Kenya is keen to ink a trade deal with the US ahead of the expiry of AGOA in 2025. 

Kenya’s exports to the US grew by 47 percent to Sh38.8 billion in the first half of the year, surpassing Uganda to become the largest market for Kenyan goods.

The country exported Sh59.6 billion worth of goods to the US in 2021, mainly apparel, macadamia nuts, coffee, tea and titanium ores, according to the Congressional Research Service.

On the flip side, the US exported goods valued at Sh84 billion last year, with aircraft, plastics, machinery and wheat among the biggest categories.