Kenya is working hard to sign a new trade deal with the United States by the end of this year, according to Cabinet Secretary for Trade, Lee Kinyanjui.
This comes as a key trade program, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), is set to expire this month unless renewed.
AGOA allows Kenya and other African countries to export certain goods to the US without paying taxes (duty-free).
This has especially helped Kenya’s textile industry, which exports items like jeans and uniforms to major US retailers such as Walmart and Target.
“If there’s no clear transition, there would be disruption,” said Kinyanjui, stressing the importance of avoiding a sudden end to AGOA.
Kenya exported goods worth $737 million to the US last year—about 10% of the country’s total exports. Many of these goods came from the textile and apparel sector, which provides over 300,000 jobs directly and indirectly through Export Processing Zones (EPZs).
But with AGOA possibly ending and a new 10% US tariff already affecting Kenyan products under President Donald Trump’s administration, the pressure is on to protect these exports and jobs.
“We believe we still can be competitive,” said Kinyanjui, noting that Kenya still has a relatively low duty rate compared to other countries like Vietnam and South Africa.
Kinyanjui recently met with Jamieson Greer, a key official in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in Washington. They agreed to start formal negotiations for a reciprocal trade agreement—a first between the US and any Sub-Saharan African country.
However, no dates have been announced for the next round of talks. The US side has not commented publicly on the status of the negotiations.
“It depends also on them (the Americans), but our view is that before the end of the year, we should be able to have something on the table,” Kinyanjui said.
Although Kenya is one of the US’s strongest allies in Africa—it was even named a major non-NATO ally in 2024—there has been some criticism from American officials about Kenya’s growing trade ties with China.
President William Ruto has defended the move, saying Kenya must increase exports to China to balance trade.
At the same time, the global trade environment is changing fast.
A recent report by the World Trade Organization (WTO) predicted that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could boost global trade by 40% by 2040. Kenya wants to stay competitive in this changing landscape.
If AGOA is not extended, and no new deal is in place, Kenya risks losing duty-free access to the US market. That could hurt its textile industry and the thousands of jobs it supports.
The government is pushing to either replicate the benefits of AGOA or get a temporary extension while talks continue.
As of now, the US government—White House, Congress, and trade officials—have not responded to requests for comment on the AGOA renewal or the ongoing talks.
