Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Daily Nation
Published on 2024-01-28 05:00:00
Kenya and the United States are preparing to commence discussions on contentious clauses in the proposed bilateral trade deal, amidst concerns that the agreement could result in an influx of low-cost agricultural imports from the US flooding the Kenyan market.
The delayed third in-person round of negotiations, scheduled for three days, will primarily focus on agriculture, good regulatory practices, and workers’ rights and protections, as stated by the United States Trade Representative Office (USTR).
Initially planned for December, the talks were postponed with a public explanation. The discussions will address the highly subsidized, corporatized, and industrialized nature of the US agricultural sector, which creates tariff and non-tariff barriers to imports. Prof David Monda, who teaches public policy at the City University of New York, highlighted that Kenya may encounter difficulties in negotiating around anti-dumping measures, particularly in the poultry sector.
President Biden’s team, led by the Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa Constance Hamilton, expressed confidence that progress has been made in resolving differences since the last in-person meeting in Washington last December.
Civil society groups and professionals have raised concerns over the lack of stakeholder engagement by Kenyan authorities, especially regarding agricultural and food products trade. The Kenya Small Scale Farmers Forum emphasized the need for a comprehensive assessment of the impact of agricultural trade liberalization before entering into negotiations.
The first negotiating round of the proposed trade deal was held in Nairobi between April 17 and 20, focusing on anti-corruption and services domestic regulation. The US team proposed that officials charged with corruption stemming from American-funded projects in Kenya be removed from office, and that Kenyan regulators provide American professionals seeking to export services a fair opportunity to demonstrate compliance with licensing rules.
Kenya has long sought a full free trade agreement with the US to replace the African Growth and Opportunity Act deal, but progress has been slow due to regime changes in both countries.
