September 30th marks the expiration of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), alarming African manufactures and stakeholders. As the deadline approaches, they are making the last resort to lobby the United States for an extension because a failed renewal could have adverse impact on the economic status.
The uncertain fate of a bipartisan bill, the AGOA Renewal and Improvement Act, introduced by senator Chris Coons in April 2024, has further pushed the pursuit of AGOA`s renewal between African stakeholders, trade ministers and the United States Congress. Kenya is also dealing with the recent 10% US tariff imposed by President Trump in April. This narrows the chances of AGOA`s renewal, as the administration favors country-by-country trade deals.
AGOA`s Impact.
AGOA was launched in Kenya back in 2000, and it`s last renewal was made in 2015 by the Obama regime. Its inception has promoted trade relations between the US and Africa, including Kenya. It has also enabled a duty-free access to the high-quality US market. Through the act, Kenya has consistently exported around 600 million USD annually to the US market and this has had a ripple effect of creating job opportunities to Kenyan citizens and hence boosting the economic status of the country.
“These programs safeguard and support our 3.6million American workers while sustaining jobs in Sub–Saharan Africa and Haiti,” said Beth Hughes, AAFA Vice president of trade and customs policy.
Cost of a failed renewal
A failed renewal would trigger a major upset in the supply networks between Kenya and the US. This would further undermine America`s economic influence as well as hinder African development.
