Inside Trade

September 21, 2025

Africa and The Middle East

Ambassador: U.S.-Kenya trade accord ‘30 to 40 percent done’

The U.S. and Kenya are just “30 to 40 percent done” negotiating their Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman said this week. During an interview with a radio station in Kenya , Whitman said she expected STIP talks to wrap up this year, but noted she had hoped the deal would be completed much sooner. The goal, she said, involves “how do we max trade between our two countries? And it’s coming along. These things...

USTR announces dates for AGOA eligibility review

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has set the schedule for its annual review of sub-Saharan African countries’ eligibility for African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits -- the last review before AGOA’s 2025 expiration date. In a Federal Register notice set to be published on Tuesday, USTR said it will receive public comments until June 6 and will hold a virtual public hearing on June 27. The hearing will inform AGOA eligibility decisions for calendar year 2025. The president...

Rep. Neal blasts House speaker for not inviting Kenya’s president to address Congress

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s refusal to invite Kenyan President William Ruto to address Congress later this month amounts to a “failure to recognize the importance” of U.S.-Kenya relations, House Ways & Means Committee ranking member Richard Neal (D-MA) charged on Friday. On April 30, the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee asked Johnson to extend the invitation to Ruto , set to visit the White House on May 23 for a state visit. They noted he would be the...

House bill would establish USTR-led U.S.-Africa strategic partnership

Two House Democrats have introduced legislation that would direct the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to establish a strategic agreement with the African Continental Free Trade Area secretariat. The “ U.S.-Africa Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership Act of 2024 ,” introduced by House Foreign Affairs Africa subcommittee members Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL) and Jonathan Jackson (IL) this week, would direct USTR and the secretariat to “develop an ambitious roadmap for enhanced cooperation, with the goal of negotiating high-standard commitments in...

ITA to organize trade mission to Africa focused on railways, ports

The Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration will organize a “Rail and Port Trade Mission” to South Africa and Angola in August, which will include introducing U.S. manufacturers to buyers focused on the “Lobito Corridor,” a G7 infrastructure project aimed at increasing trade in the region. The trip is set for Aug. 19-24, to “to advance U.S. national interests and focus on meeting demand for U.S. rail and port solutions for African markets,” according to a May 3 Federal Register notice...

House Foreign Affairs leaders: Kenya’s president should address Congress

Kenyan President William Ruto should be invited to address a joint session of Congress when he visits the U.S. later this month, the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said this week. In an April 30 letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), committee Chair Mike McCaul (R-TX) and ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-NY) note that Ruto, who will be at the White House on May 23 for a state visit, would be the first Kenyan head of state...

Commerce proposes lower duties for fertilizer from Russia, higher for Morocco

U.S. fertilizer imports from Russia could soon face lower duties, while those from Morocco could be raised, the Commerce Department said on Monday, the latest step in a politically sensitive countervailing duty case. Countervailing duties applied to U.S. imports of phosphate fertilizer produced by Russia’s Apatit could soon fall from 28.5 percent to 18.83 percent if an April 29 preliminary determination stands in a final verdict due in the fall. Imports from Morocco’s mostly state-owned OCP, however, could be increased...

Kenya’s president hopes STIP talks end soon, implementation begins this year

Kenya hopes to conclude Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations with the U.S. and begin implementing the deal this year, the country’s president said on Thursday. Speaking at AmCham Kenya’s 2024 Business Summit in Nairobi , President William Ruto said he hoped the U.S. and Kenya could soon wrap up the talks, which began last April . “It is our hope that the ongoing negotiations on outstanding issues will be conducted in a few months to enable us [to] embark...

U.S., Kenya announce partnership on AI, digital data flows and trade

The U.S. and Kenya have agreed to partner on efforts to harness artificial intelligence and facilitate digital data flows, they said on Wednesday in a joint statement, laying out a host of shared priorities including increased digital trade and investment. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced the partnership during the “AmCham Business Summit: U.S.-East Africa Trade & Investment Forum” in Kenya. She was joined by Kenyan Cabinet Secretary of Information, Communication and the Digital Economy Eliud Owalo. The two officials “affirmed...

Trade panel Chair Smith: A ‘new AGOA’ must feature a path to graduation

The U.S. must provide a clear path under the African Growth and Opportunity Act for countries that outgrow the unilateral trade preferences program to negotiate reciprocal, enforceable trade agreements with Washington, the chair of the House Ways & Means trade subcommittee tells Inside U.S. Trade . “Let’s fashion AGOA for the future so that it can encourage countries to do the right thing and to engage and to break down ultimately their own trade barriers,” Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) said...

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