Kenya to know fate of proposed US trade deal this December

This in a meeting pitting trade representatives from both countries which is expected to be staged in early December according to the Ministry of Trade and Industrialization.

While Kenya had previously expected to close a potential deal with the global economic powerhouse before the end of next year, a change in administration has seen the talks die down.

This is as the new US administration steered by President Joe Biden seemingly side steps the draft FTA with Kenya indicating it is likely to look beyond a trade deal in firming up its relations with the country.

However, Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina says Kenyan trade officials have remained engaged with their counterparts and that they now expect a decision on the deal from the Biden administration in the coming weeks.

“We will be meeting with the US side in two weeks' time. From that, we should be able to get an indication and conclusion from their study of our file (proposed FTA),” she said on Friday.

“We remain engaged with the Americans ever since the change in administration. We had anticipated that a change in administration would lead to a bit of a slowdown in talks.”

The proposed FTA has not featured in recent high stake talks between the countries including President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to the White House in October and the recent visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken this week.

The silence around the FTA has been alleged in various quarters to signal the disintegration of talks with the US seemingly looking away.

Already US officials have indicated the FTA would not be the only way forward in firming up trade ties between the pair.

“I’m sure you are aware of the Build Back Better World or B3W initiative that President Biden announced at the G7 Summit. We are thinking about how we approach foreign trade and balancing that with our domestic economic concerns but we are committed to working with our Kenyan partners to strengthen our economic relationship,” a senior US administration official told journalists during President Kenyatta’s recent tour of the US.

The US has been undertaking a forensic review of all deals reached by former President Donald Trump including Kenya’s proposed FTA.

Officials from both countries are yet to reach new terms on the continuation of discussions.