The government on Thursday, November 7, rushed to dispute reports appearing to suggest that key trade agreements with the US would be set aside with the election of the new President Donald Trump.
Trade Principal Secretary Alfred K’Ombudo while responding to a story that had been shared on one of the local publications in the country, urged that the suggestions were inaccurate as they would not have any impact.
”Kenya and the United States of America have a long-standing trade, investment, and development cooperation relationship that is based on common and enduring principles,’’ K’Ombudo stated.
The publication, Business Daily, had suggested that Kenya’s trade relations with the US would likely suffer as key trade negotiations with the US were set to be concluded by the end of the year.
The relations were particularly anchored around the current US ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman, who Kenyans on social media have been advocating for her recall.
Kenya’s Trade Principal Secretary Alfred KOmbudo during the signing of a Terms of Reference (TOR) for the establishment of a Joint Trade Committee (JTC) with the Vice Minister for Foreign Trade & Development of the Netherlands Yvette Van Eechoud on October 15, 2024.
Ministry of Trade
Trade PS maintained that Kenya’s policy would not be in any way affected as the two countries are both committed to a deep economic tie that would likely have a bigger impact would the relations were destroyed.
K’Ombudo noted that the government was exploring additional means of encouraging more investment opportunities for Kenyan companies in the US market. He added that the opportunity would also see many US firms take up the Kenyan market.
Among the key business strategies that the PS revealed Kenya will be keen on to deepen its ties with the US include the promotion of enterprise, maximizing the benefits of trade and investment for all, sustainable trade, and the use of technology.
‘’Our joint trade policy work is therefore based on continuously advancing instruments that will deepen two—way trade, encourage the integration of Kenyan firms into global value chains and the $26 trillion U.S. market, and also encourage opportunities for U.S. firms keen to trade and invest with Kenya and the wider $4trillion African market,’’ the PS stated.
”These principles include promotion of enterprise, maximizing the benefits of trade and investment for all, sustainable trade, and the use of technology as a tool for increasing access to global markets,’’ he added.
Further, the PS announced that there was no way initial trade policies under the African Growth and Opportunity Act(AGOA), would be affected by a regime change.
”Our conversations with the United States as AGOA senior officials and ministers and with Kenya show broad-based, bipartisan, and bicameral support for advancing trade and investment between Africa, Kenya and the United States. This transcends administrations both in the US and Kenya,’’ he added.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi also shared similar sentiments when he appeared on Citizen TV on Wednesday night, where he dismissed claims of the election of Trump as a potential impact on the bilateral ties between the two countries. He insisted that the ties between the two nations had been levelled up from merely bilateral to multilateral.
A collage image of President William Ruto, First lady Rachel Ruto together with President Joe Biden in New York on September 23, 2022 (left) and the head of state meeting with ambassador Meg Whitman and special envoy Mike Hammer on October 7, 2022 (right).
William Ruto
