Written by Kelly Were

The United States has suspended 72 projects in Kenya, cutting funding to various sectors that have been supporting employment and development. 

This move follows President Donald Trump’s decision to pause US foreign development assistance for 90 days to review foreign aid programs and ensure they align with his “America First” policy.

Out of the 83 projects previously supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), only 11 will continue. 

These remaining projects focus on health services, such as HIV/AIDS prevention, tuberculosis diagnosis, and child protection. These initiatives will continue until between 2026 and 2029.

The halted projects covered a wide range of sectors, including education, agriculture, wildlife conservation, and water and sanitation.

Institutions like the University of Nairobi and Strathmore University, along with organizations like the Kenya Wildlife Services, have been affected by the funding cuts.

Kenya is set to lose over Ksh15 billion that was supporting these initiatives. 

The termination of these projects will impact many communities, especially in areas like education, trade, and agriculture, where the US had been playing a significant role.

The ongoing cuts from USAID since President Trump took office have left many worried about the long-term effects on Kenya’s development, particularly in sectors that directly benefit the local population.

(Reuters) – Britain is still hopeful that any tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump will be reversed shortly, if the two sides can agree the outline of a new economic partnership, its business minister said on Tuesday.

Britain had sought to avoid Trump’s global tariff plan by offering to more closely align with Washington on areas such as technology and artificial intelligence. But business minister Jonathan Reynolds said Trump now appeared to want to impose levies on every country before discussing individual exemptions.

He said he hoped those levies, due to be announced on Wednesday, would be removed once the two sides agreed terms.

“I believe that the framework of an agreement is certainly in place,” he told the BBC. “We could sign heads of terms on that, and then talk about the detail over a specific timescale that would be to the U.S.’s satisfaction going forward.

“Whether the U.S. is willing to come to agreement with countries is a decision for the U.S., but I believe the work we have done has made that possible.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the talks as “well advanced”.

Unlike the European Union and other major economies, Britain has not retaliated over U.S. tariffs. Reynolds indicated again that London would try to avoid an escalation, saying British companies supported its “calm-headed approach”.

LIGHT TOUCH

As part of a deal, the government has considered softening the impact of its digital services tax on technology companies, as Trump has claimed this is discriminatory against U.S. companies.

Britain has also adopted a light touch to AI regulation that is more closely aligned with the United States than with the EU, a policy designed to attract investment from big tech companies and international investors.

Britain has the third-largest AI market globally, ranking behind only the United States and China. It is home to companies including DeepMind, owned by Google, and BenevolentAI.

But Reynolds said there were red lines to the negotiations, highlighting “sensitive areas” that it would not discuss, such as food standards.

Reynolds said Britain had a higher chance than other countries of securing an exemption, and he remained hopeful that a deal would lead to tariffs being dropped in weeks or months, saying: “That would be my objective.”

Downing Street said Starmer and Trump had discussed the “productive negotiations” towards what they called a UK-U.S. economic prosperity deal on Sunday.

Asked by Sky News if he felt played by the U.S., Starmer said on Tuesday that the two countries were very close allies, and would remain so.

Global markets have been roiled by Trump’s plan, which has stoked fears of an economic downturn. Trump has said tariffs are needed to shrink a $1.2 trillion global goods trade deficit.

Reynolds said it was not possible to give a timescale on when any reversal could come in, but warned London would have to consider retaliatory tariffs if it took too long.

“The longer we don’t have a potential resolution to that, the more we will have to consider our own position,” he said.

(Reuters) – Japan will keep up a strong push for the United States to exempt it from auto tariffs, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Tuesday, while vowing to take the necessary steps to cushion the blow to the economy and jobs.

The export-reliant economy could take a severe hit from a planned tariff of 25% on automobile imports unveiled last week by U.S. President Donald Trump, who also promised to announce on Wednesday reciprocal tariffs targeting every nation.

Measures such as offers of funding support to cash-strapped firms are among those the government could take to protect the economy from the higher tariffs, Ishiba told a news conference.

“The government will negotiate with the ruling coalition at an early date specific measures we can take to respond,” Ishiba said, in case Japan is slapped with higher levies.

Government agencies are negotiating with U.S. counterparts to secure more details on Washington’s tariff plans, he said, adding that he “would not hesitate” to visit the United States again to voice a direct call for exemptions.

Ishiba, grappling with sliding approval ratings ahead of an upper house election expected in July, is also under pressure to counter economic headwinds from U.S. tariffs and protect households from rising living costs.

Japan’s headline inflation of 3.7% in February was among the highest in advanced economies, fuelled largely by steady rises in food costs, including those of staple rice.

While big firms have offered bumper pay hikes in this year’s wage talks with unions, it is uncertain if smaller peers will follow suit, as Trump’s tariff threats cloud the business outlook.

Ishiba said the government would compile measures by May to push up Japan’s minimum wage, and a separate package by June to allow smaller firms to smoothly pass on rising costs.

“Achieving wage hikes is at the core of our growth strategy,” Ishiba said, stressing the need for pay hikes sufficient to compensate for the rising cost of living.