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With the shadow of the bitterly contested American presidential elections looming over us, the past few weeks have seen much discussion on the relationship between Kenya and the US. The average American may not care much who gets to be the president of Kenya – indeed would generally have no idea of it, if there was a presidential election taking place in Kenya. But most Kenyans are very keen to see if this most unusual of American presidents – Donald Trump – will be reelected; or if he will be, in that phrase beloved of Kenyan media...

[Opinion] The 56-year-old United States-Kenya relationship flourishes because we trust each other, respect each other and our nations share common values. Both believe in a strong economy through an open, free marketplace allowing entrepreneurs, businesses and the private sector to thrive and create jobs. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) enhanced markets, allowing Kenyan businesses to grow. Agoa will expire in 2025 and, while helpful, it has not been transformative in driving the broad-based economic growth Kenya...

Moderator:   Good afternoon to everyone from the U.S. Department of State’s Africa Regional Media Hub. [scroll to bottom for the sound recording]  I would like to welcome our participants from across the continent and thank all of you for taking part in this discussion.  Today we are very pleased to be joined by Victoria Whitney, Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. Government’s Prosper Africa Initiative.  Ms. Whitney will discuss how Prosper Africa is unlocking billions of dollars of U.S. investment...

Nigeria’s export to the United States under a duty-free policy declined in the first eight months of 2020, recording $300.48m from January to August. According to the latest African Growth and Opportunity Act policy trade statistics, exports to the US under the duty-free policy fell by 88 per cent from $2,502.86m in the first eight months of 2019 to $300.48m in the corresponding period in 2020. The AGOA, a United States’ trade policy, enacted in 2000, is a legislation that facilitates a duty-free trade between exporters from...

Leading US politicians have urged President Trump to oppose the export of more plastic waste to Africa after an investigation by Unearthed and the New York Times revealed oil industry attempts to influence a US-Kenya trade deal. In a letter released after the investigation landed on the front page of the New York Times, one Republican and 61 Democrats from both the Senate and the House of Representatives said: “The United States’ solution to the plastic pollution crisis cannot be to simply open more markets...

The ranking Democratic and Republican members of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa are packing a resolution urging the government of Tanzania to respect human and economic rights and to conduct free and fair elections on October 28. House Resolution 1120 – sponsored by California Democrat Karen Bass, who chairs the subcommittee, and the ranking Republican, Chris Smith from New Jersey – reflects growing concern over political and economic developments in Tanzania by members of Congress who follow Africa. Since the election in...

The US has warned Kenya against manipulation of the shilling against the dollar during the ongoing talks for a bilateral trade pact. The US is seeking an undertaking that Kenya will let market forces influence the rate of exchange of the shilling to the dollar as part of the trade agreement. This pre-condition in the free trade deal (FTA) echoes past claims by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Kenya’s currency was overvalued, which drew protests from the central bank governor, Patrick Njoroge. “Ensure that Kenya avoids...