'Kenyan SMEs to win big if proposed FTA with the US is adopted' – AMCHAM
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will be some of the biggest beneficiaries of the Free Trade Agreement that is currently being negotiated between the governments of Kenya and United States.
American Chamber of Commerce in Kenya (AMCHAM) CEO Maxwell Okello says SMEs will benefit from increased trade opportunities for both export and import.
According to the CEO, SMEs will have the opportunity to become distributors of American products, which are renown for high quality and innovativeness.
They will also benefit from Foreign Direct Investment and partnership opportunities with counterpart SMEs as well as larger U.S. companies.
“American companies wanting to do business in Kenya will be looking for partners with knowledge of the local market and supply chain systems; this is where SMEs come in,” he said.
Okello sees more gains for SMEs in the form of transfer of knowledge, expertise and technology from American businesses.
According to the CEO, this will in turn enhance the quality and competitiveness of their goods and services, thus spurring growth,” Okello said.
Experts have however warned Kenya to be careful with the deal.
East Africa Business Council Chair Nick Nesbitt has previously termed the proposed deal as ideal but has urged the government to be aware that it is negotiating with a superpower whose interests it will be seeking to guard.
Kenya and US launched negotiations for the landmark agreement early last month, paving way for trade and investment relations between the two countries.
Under the deal, Kenya’s exports will retain duty and quota free access to the US market, cementing the gains achieved during the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) that enabled Kenya to diversify and increase the value of exports to the US market.
Between 2009 and 2019, the value of Kenya’s exports to the US increased from Sh17.4 billion to Sh51.9 billion.
Over 70 percent of these earnings were from horticulture, apparels and textiles.
The US has 14 FTAs with 20 countries across the world.
In Africa, Morocco was the first in 2004 to conclude an agreement, hence, Kenya will be the second African country upon successful conclusion of the negotiations.
The negotiations come ahead of the anticipated lapse of the African Growth and Opportunities Act, popularly known as AGOA, on September 30, 2025.
Read related news articles
US and Kenya invite public participation in stakeholder listening session during 6th negotiating round under the STIP
The United States and Kenya will hold a virtual stakeholder listening session during the sixth round of negotiations under the United States-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) on Friday, June 7 at 9:00AM East Africa Time (EAT). The session will be co-chaired by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Constance Hamilton and Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Trade Alfred K’Ombudo. The sixth round of negotiations are taking...
03 June 2024
United States and Kenya to hold sixth negotiating round under the STIP early June
The United States and Kenya will hold a sixth in-person negotiating round under the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) in Mombasa, Kenya, from June 3-7. The United States delegation will be led by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Constance Hamilton and will include representatives from several other U.S. government agencies. The Kenyan delegation will be led by Principal Secretary for Trade Alfred...
27 May 2024
Ruto's State visit spotlights Kenya's centrality to Africa-US relations [Download Facsheet]
President Joe Biden's choice of Kenya for a first African state visit in more than 15 years is no coincidence, but both countries must be clear on what is driving this increasing strategic dependence. Kenyan President William Ruto's arrival in Washington on 22 May ends a historic drought. No African leader has made a state visit to the US since John Kufuor of Ghana in 2008 - three times longer than the previous record gap, but a period that...
23 May 2024
Senator Coons talks US and sub-Saharan African countries partnership amid Kenyan President’s visit
In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) discussed Kenyan President William Ruto’s visit to the United States this week and the need for Congress to advance a reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in an interview with Devex yesterday. A major area of interest for President Ruto is the trade relationship between the United States and Kenya, and his visit is expected to lend support to the...
22 May 2024
Top democrats on Senate and House committees urge Administration to upgrade Kenya trade talks to a comprehensive trade agreement
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal, D-Mass., called on U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to transition current trade discussions with Kenya into negotiations of a comprehensive, enforceable trade agreement, in a letter today. Although the Biden administration is in discussions for a U.S.-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP),...
21 May 2024
Kenya-US trade talks inching closer to completion – Cabinet Sec Miano
Kenya and the US are inching closer to reaching a trade deal, Investments, Trade and Industry CS Rebecca Miano has hinted, meaning a pact could be in place by end of this year. This, even as the US expresses confidence that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), set to expire next year, will be renewed to allow Sub-Sharan nations continue to enjoy preferential export terms to the US market. The in-person talks between Kenya and US...
25 April 2024
USTR releases summaries from US – Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations
Consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to the highest levels of transparency in trade agreement negotiations, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released summaries of texts proposed by the U.S. side on good regulatory practices, workers’ rights and protections, and a second tranche of agriculture text. Negotiations on these texts are ongoing. USTR will negotiate the workers’...
08 April 2024
Kenya: 4th AmCham business summit to advocate for enhanced partnership and investment In US-East Africa trade
The fourth edition of the regional American Chamber of Commerce Kenya (AmCham) Business Summit, the premier platform for strengthening bilateral trade and investment between the United States, Kenya, and East Africa is set to be held on April 24–25, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya’s President William Ruto is confirmed as Chief Guest, leading a government delegation to the summit that aims to expand commercial opportunities and markets....
19 March 2024
US-Kenya: Ruto’s US state visit needs to navigate America’s uncertain political future
President William Ruto will visit the United States on a State Visit in May during what is likely to be one of the most turbulent US elections in memory. Barring some miracle, or catastrophe, the US presidential election will be a showdown between the same two contenders—albeit older and less energetic—as in 2020. The US presidential election in November is the most significant geopolitical risk event of 2024. Its outcome could result in...
26 February 2024
US President Biden to welcome Kenyan President Ruto to the White House in May
President Joe Biden plans to welcome Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House in May, hosting a state visit after reneging on his promise to visit Africa last year. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that the visit set for May 23 will mark the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Kenya diplomatic relations and "celebrate a partnership that is delivering for the people" of both countries while affirming "our strategic...
18 February 2024
US keen to strengthen Kenya’s public procurement system as trade talks resume [incl. Readout]
The US plans to strengthen Kenya’s public procurement systems in what is seen as a strategy to put in place sound structures ahead of the planned trade pact. This comes as talks on the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) resumed last week with a meeting in Nairobi. Kenya is pushing for the deal and renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which expires next year. Washington in a statement on Tuesday said the...
07 February 2024