{"id":163737,"date":"2020-08-17T18:48:26","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T16:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/kenya-us-free-trade-talks-are-under-way-what-nairobi-must-get-right-from-start-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2020-08-17T18:48:26","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T16:48:26","slug":"kenya-us-free-trade-talks-are-under-way-what-nairobi-must-get-right-from-start-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/kenya-us-free-trade-talks-are-under-way-what-nairobi-must-get-right-from-start-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya-US free trade talks are under way: what Nairobi must get right from start | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kenya-US free trade talks are under way: what Nairobi must get right from start<\/a>: <\/p>\n

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in August 2018. <\/span> Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool\/Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The United States and Kenya formally launched negotiations for a free trade agreement on 8 July 2020. With the US gearing up for presidential elections in a few months, these talks may not draw much global attention. But as a prototype for evaluating the substance of future US-Africa trade relations, a lot rides on Washington using this deal to make a bold statement of its commitment to effective North-South free trade agreements.<\/p>\n

The US is the third most important destination for Kenyan exports after Uganda and Pakistan, accounting for 8% of its total exports. Kenya exported goods worth US$ 527 million in 2018, primarily apparels, coffee and nuts. Its imports were mainly commercial aeroplanes and other spacecraft, polymers and medicaments. Kenya has a slim trade surplus that the US will probably be keen to balance.<\/p>\n

Washington has a penchant for using free trade agreements to signal the status of partner states as regional strategic allies. Such agreements with Morocco, South Korea, Colombia and Bahrain were all intended to signal much deeper strategic alliances beyond trade. <\/p>\n

For the European Union and China the Kenyan agreement further signals America\u2019s intent for commercial expansion and competition in Africa. The principal objective is to secure duty free access for American industrial, apparel and agricultural goods in Africa. Its all about making American exports competitive. <\/p>\n

US trade officials have described the Kenyan deal as a model for other African free trade deals. Terming Kenya a \u201cstrategic partner, regional leader and commercial hub\u201d statementsfrom both the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and the US ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter highlight the seriousness with which Washington wants this deal done. <\/p>\n

This vigour affirms President Trump\u2019s strategy outlined by the 2018 US-Africa policy. But since the Kenyan deal is an initiative of President Trump, the palpable pressure to conclude agreement could be detrimental to Kenya\u2019s interests. The pressure hampers Kenya more given the asymmetry of capacity between the two states. <\/p>\n

Free trade agreements are protracted affairs which take more than a year to complete. The US-Morocco agreement, for instance, took 15 months. Talks with Peru (18 months) and Colombia (20 months) lasted even longer. The Kenya-EU economic partnership agreements took more than 10 years to conclude.<\/p>\n

Additionally, there\u2019s no guarantee that Trump will be in office come January 2021. For this reason, Kenya\u2019s team in Washington should consider informally engaging the democrats in case the deal has to be concluded under President Biden.<\/p>\n

Kenya\u2019s negotiating objectives<\/h2>\n

It is my view that Kenya\u2019s negotiations should be guided by four principal questions and objectives as follows: <\/p>\n