The US has not set a specific deadline for concluding negotiations on the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) with Kenya, said US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

“Our focus right now is on substance as opposed to setting an actual deadline,” she said after concluding her three-day tour in Nairobi.

The proposed trade deal, which excludes tariffs, is expected to safeguard Kenya in case the US Congress decides not to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2025, Business Daily newspaper reported.

AGOA currently grants duty- and quota-free access to the US market for sub-Saharan African countries.

In March, Kenya’s Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria expected the negotiations to finish in December, paving the way for the deal signing by April 2024.

The first round of talks on the proposed trade deal was held in Nairobi in April.

In July 2022, the US and Kenyan governments decided to start work on developing a road map for engagement in several sectors and customs procedures, the US Trade Representative’s office said in a statement.

However, outgoing Trade and Industrialization Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina said in September 2022 that Kenya hoped for a temporary trade partnership before establishing a fully-fledged trade deal with the United States.

Moreover, Kenya wants to become a manufacturing hub for American companies striving to relocate or diversify from China.

“With all the changes globally, the US firms are looking at identifying new production bases for their products. They are diversifying out of their traditional production places in the Far East, particularly China,” Maina said earlier.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com )