Uncertainty looms as negotiations on the US-Kenya trade agreement proceeds without a timetable

<span>Uncertainty looms as negotiations on the US-Kenya trade agreement proceeds without a timetable</span>, <p>A recent report has shown that the United States is unsure when discussions for a free trade agreement with Kenya would be completed, notwithstanding the fact that Nairobi previously stated that the talks would be completed by December.</p>, <p>The United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who wrapped up a three-day visit in Nairobi on Wednesday, stated that the US negotiators do not have a timetable for ending discussions or signing the planned US-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP).</p>, <p>“In terms of signature and when will we conclude, our focus right now is on substance as opposed to setting an actual deadline,” Ms. Tai said in a media briefing in Nairobi. “There’s a strong motivation on both sides to continue to build trade and economic relationships through these STIP discussions. So I am very encouraged with the engagement that we have had here and we will see how quickly we can move things forward,” she added.</p>, <p>The proposed trade agreement is expected to protect Kenya in the event that the US Congress decides not to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which grants countries in sub-Saharan Africa duty- and quota-free access to the American market, when it expires in 2025. The proposed trade agreement does not include any tariff-related clauses.</p>, <p>Moses Kuria, the cabinet secretary for trade in Kenya, had stated in March that he anticipated the discussions to be concluded in December, opening the door for the agreement to be signed by April 2024. Also, the National Assembly Committee on Trade, Industrialization, and Cooperatives reported in June that the Trade Ministry expected the negotiations to be concluded by December.</p>, <p>The first round of negotiations on the proposed trade agreement, which would serve as a model for the rest of the sub-Saharan African nations, took place between April 17 and 20 in Nairobi. Ms. Tai said contin