The US’ First Free-trade Agreement in Sub-Saharan Africa

The hope is that an FTA with Kenya, which exchanged nearly $1.1bn-worth of goods with America in 2019, could serve as a model for future trade agreements in the region. Kenya would no doubt welcome such a deal. America was the country’s third-biggest trading partner in 2019, importing $667m-worth of clothing, fruit, nuts and coffee. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which gives 39 sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the American market, is due to expire in 2025. he affected countries are anxious to have something in place when that happens, even though in recent years, despite the AGOA, more sub-Saharan exports have headed to the EU, China and India than to America.

SOURCE: THE ECONOMIST