Kenya-US trade deal, GMOs to top Ruto agenda at DC summit

President Biden will host leaders from across the African continent for the three-day summit that kicks off today (see separate story in Financial Standard).

President Ruto was due to fly out yesterday after leading the country for Jamhuri Day celebrations at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.

"I look forward to working with African governments, civil society, diaspora communities across the United States and the private sector to continue strengthening our shared vision for the future of US-Africa relations," said Biden ahead of the summit.

Global priorities

According to a brief from the White House, "the summit will demonstrate the United States' enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of US-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities."

"Africa will shape the future - not just the future of the African people but of the world. Africa will make the difference in tackling the most urgent challenges and seizing the opportunities we all face," added the White House.

A proposed free trade pact between Nairobi and Washington has been beset by delays and uncertainty, casting doubt about the Biden administration's commitment to concluding the deal.

Kenya is looking to wrap up a fresh trade deal with the US before the expiry of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).

The Agoa pact allows Sub-Saharan African countries, including Kenya, to export thousands of products to the US without tariffs or quotas until 2025. The Biden administration had earlier called for the objectives of the bilateral pact to be recast, with some of the objectives of the negotiations set by the Trump administration likely to be dropped.

The push for a trade agreement with Kenya, which would be the first US free trade deal in sub-Saharan Africa, comes amid growing concern about China's investments across Africa.

This is as President Biden seeks to cut China's share of global trade.

Kenya and the US formally launched negotiations in July 2020 for a bilateral trade pact that the two economies hope could serve as a model for additional agreements across Africa.

But President Biden is looking to move "beyond the old model of free trade agreements and is more geared toward today's economic realities and the lessons of the last 30 years," his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at a White House news conference on September 21.

The Kenya-US trade talks were expected to restart in October under the new Ruto administration. American firms are also angling for a share of the potential GMO market in Kenya.

Washington has been pressuring Nairobi to allow access to its GM food and crop products recently, providing a huge market opportunity for American companies.

Kenya lifted a decades-old ban on GM crops in response to the worst drought to affect the East African region in 40 years, with authorities hoping it will improve crop yields and food security.

But the lifting of the ban has been met with scepticism from farmers and health crusaders.

Representatives from 32 US agribusiness visited Kenya as part of an American government delegation scouting for trade opportunities recently, including an expanded market for their crops in the country.