The United States and Kenya on Thursday agreed to launch negotiations that could lead to the first US bilateral trade deal with a sub-Saharan African country. The announcement, made at a White House meeting between Trump and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, directs US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to issue a formal notification to Congress under the “fast-track” trade negotiating law. “We believe this agreement with Kenya will complement Africa’s regional integration efforts,” Lighthizer said in a statement. “We believe a trade agreement between the United States and Kenya will receive broad bipartisan support in Congress.”Uhuru is in the US together with ODM leader Raila Odinga for a series of meetings. Trump said the trade ties were getting “bigger” and some “excellent deals” for both countries were in the offing.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 07, 2020 12:56 UTC