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The Kenya - United States Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership | In negotiation

On 6 February 2020, (former) US President Trump announced that the United States intends to initiate trade agreement negotiations with the Republic of Kenya following a meeting at the White House with (former) Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. The announcement came while the US-Kenya Trade and Investment Working Group held its third meeting in Washington (see inaugural meeting, second meeting) - having been established earlier by President Trump and President Kenyatta in August 2018 in order to lay the groundwork for a stronger bilateral preferential trade relationship.

The nature of the proposed bilateral agreement has changed over time and later, under the Biden administration, became known as a strategic trade and investment partnership (STIP), rather than a trade agreement. It did not contain a traditional market access agenda (involving for example reciprocal tariff reductions or removal, rules of origin, etc.) but focused more on a number of other disciplines around investment and inclusive growth, to benefit workers and businesses.

The bilateral negotiations initially commenced on July 7, 2020 (see joint statement). 

See Federal Register notice: Request for comments on matters relevant to specified trade areas, including U.S. interests and priorities, in order to develop objectives and positions for enhanced engagement and subsequent negotiation (Submission deadline: 16 September 2022).

During a virtual meeting on July 14, 2022, the United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, and Kenya's Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary, Betty Maina, launched the United States-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP).

  Download the joint statement in the document block alongside. 

The charts below provide some broad background data context to current Kenya-US trade in goods; followed by a selection of recent international news updates and documents on the topic. 


For the Kenya country section here on AGOA.info: Click here 

Please scroll down for relevant news articles relating to the proposed US-Kenya FTA, as well as a range of relevant documents, such as the negotiating principles, a US-Kenya FTA/AGOA trade brochure, and others. 

Trade data covering two-way trade between Kenya and the United States can be viewed in the relevant charts. To activate / deactivate a data series, simply click on the relevant series year in the relevant chart legend.  

 

US Kenya meetings

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 round2talkskenya usa1100

 

[Below] Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u with US ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman, with other officials after the signing of the agreement to enhance public procurement, in Nairobi on February 6, 2024

whitman Ndung 1100u

 

 

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Kenya - United States trade data

This section tracks trade in goods between the United Stats and Kenya, and includes several sets of data. 

On each chart, individual data series can be activated and de-activated, by clicking on the relevant series name. 

  • Two-way trade trade in goods
  • Kenya's exports to the US by program (preferential trade versus traded goods that enter the US on a non-preferential / MFN basis
  • United States imports from Kenya by sector
  • United States exports to Kenya, by sector

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