Trade negotiations between Kenya and the United States of America have been scheduled to start on 7th July 2020- By Gerald Gekara.
According to President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan delegates have confirmed that all measures and considerations have already been put in place to facilitate the agreement.
Uhuru said the talks will revolve around the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Kenya and the US, and will simultaneously kick-off on the same day the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement comes into effect.
“What we did agree is that all negotiations will come into play as soon as the African Continental Free Trade Area comes into effect, so that’s July, the first week of July, July 7th in particular,” Uhuru said.
President Kenyatta spoke at State House, Nairobi during a leader’s forum on US-Africa trade convened by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA).
Kenya is currently America’s 98th largest goods trading partner with $1.0 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2018.
Goods exports totaled $365 million; goods imports totaled $644 million. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Kenya was $279 million in 2018.
According to the Department of Commerce, U.S. exports of goods to Kenya supported an estimated 5 thousand jobs in 2015 (latest data available).
