Kenya is pursuing a bilateral deal with the US to replace the stalled Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) even as President Donald Trump promised a one-year extension of the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa), which allows them preferential access to the key market.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said on Friday that the US planned for a bilateral agreement with Kenya in place of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and STIP, which failed materialise over a combined 10-year period of talks.“The US wants the Agoa extended for one year, that is their (Republican) administration. But, in the meantime, we are pursuing a bilateral agreement. The FTA and the US-Kenya STIP are no longer in place,” Mudavadi, who is also the CS Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, told The EastAfrican.

He said the Trump administration plans to extend the Agoa by one year, to protect thousands of African jobs in textiles, agriculture, and other sectors, while allowing time to negotiate a stronger, long-term trade framework for both nations.

The proposed short-term extension, awaiting US Congress approval, aims to prevent disruption and build a modern, mutually beneficial trade future beyond the original September 2025 expiry Agoa.“The STIP that was being negotiated (under Joe Biden) is no longer in place. They have been talking of bilateral trade agreements,” he said.

The US-Kenya STIP was aimed at boosting economic growth, supporting African regional integration, and deepening trade cooperation, with a focus on digital trade, agriculture, labour rights, anti-corruption, and trade facilitation.

Launched in July 2022, the STIP is not a traditional FTA like what Trump 1.0 had proposed with Kenya, and does not address tariffs but instead focuses on reducing non-tariff barriers to make US businesses more competitive in Kenya.

The Kenyan delegation led by President Ruto discussed the possibility of a US-Kenya bilateral agreement that would also address the 10 percent tariff that the US imposed on Kenya.“Our discussions went further, focusing on the development of a new bilateral trade arrangement that will elevate Kenya–US economic cooperation to the next level. We are working on a joint framework that will open new opportunities for trade, strengthen predictability for investors, and build a modern partnership that reflects the ambitions of our two countries,” Mr Mudavadi said.“Kenya is at the lowest band (of tariffs), but we did discuss that even the 10 percent is hurting some of our exporters, so the whole idea of the bilateral trade agreement is to eventually resolve this in totality. But in the meantime, before congressional approval, is the extension of Agoa for one more year.”Kenya is among nations across the world hit by Trump’s tariffs in what his administration says is a move to correct the country’s trade imbalance, including both the trade deficit and trade barriers.

From April 9, 2025, goods from Kenya now attract a 10 percent tariff.“We have identified several high-potential sectors for expansion, including apparel and textiles, agriculture, leather and footwear, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and ICT and digital services,” said Mudavadi.“These areas offer substantial opportunities to create jobs, boost export earnings, attract investment, and enhance value chains across Kenya.” This renewed engagement sets the stage for a more dynamic, mutually beneficial and future-focused Kenya–US trade relationship.

Republican and Democrat lawmakers see Agoa as a pillar of US diplomatic relations and a counterweight to Africa’s main trading partner, China, which announced in June it would remove all tariffs on 53 of 54 African states.

Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who co-sponsored a bipartisan bill in 2024 to extend it by 16 years, said: “If we fail to re-authorise Agoa, China will not hesitate to take our place.”An International Trade Centre analysis indicates that without the Agoa exports from the 32 eligible African countries to the US will be slashed by 8.7 percent by 2029, a figure that includes the impact of other recent US tariff measures, a figure which only decreases to 8 percent with the pact back in place.

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