Kenya is on the brink of finalising a landmark bilateral trade agreement with China that could see its key agricultural exports, tea, coffee and avocados, enter the Chinese market duty-free.
The deal, expected to be sealed in the coming months, comes as Washington slaps a 10 percent tariff on Kenyan exports, escalating trade tensions.
President William Ruto announced the breakthrough during a roundtable with private sector players in Nairobi, saying Beijing had agreed to lift tariffs on Kenyan produce as part of a reciprocal arrangement.
Currently, Kenyan goods face up to 10 percent tariffs in China due to the country’s lower-middle income classification, unlike its East African neighbours which enjoy low-income exemptions.
Ruto described the agreement as a game-changer and admitted it had stirred discontent with unnamed Western allies. “Some of our friends are complaining,” he said. “But I must do what is right for Kenya.”
The announcement follows fresh pressure from a US senator calling for investigations into Kenya’s ties with China, human rights record and alleged involvement in the Sudan conflict. Washington is also reviewing its strategic cooperation with Nairobi, a designated non-NATO ally.
Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui confirmed two technical meetings have been held since Ruto’s state visit to China in April. He noted that some importers have been rerouting Kenyan goods through Rwanda to evade tariffs—an issue that would end once the new deal is ratified.
China is Kenya’s largest source of imports, but trade remains heavily imbalanced. Last year, Kenya imported Sh576 billion worth of goods from China, while only exporting Sh26 billion.
Ruto said the new access could radically change Kenyan livelihoods: “Even tapping one percent of China’s 1.4 billion people could transform lives.”
