Inside Trade

September 21, 2025

Africa and The Middle East

Raimondo to visit Kenya to meet African trade, digital ministers

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo next week will visit Kenya along with representatives from U.S. companies to talk about the U.S.-Kenya commercial relationship and “digital opportunities” in the region, as well as to meet trade and digital ministers from various African countries. Raimondo will be in Nairobi April 23-35, according to an announcement from the Commerce Department on Wednesday. The department said Raimondo would be leading “a delegation of private sector companies from the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in...

U.S. touts ‘productive’ negotiating round with Kenya

The U.S. and Kenya have wrapped up a “productive” round of in-person negotiations under their Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Monday. The talks were held April 2-12 in Washington, DC. The U.S. side was led by Assistant USTR Constance Hamilton, the Kenyan Delegation by Principal Secretary for Trade Alfred K’Ombudo. “During the negotiating round the two sides primarily exchanged views on the texts that concern agriculture, environment, and workers’ rights,” USTR...

Sens. Coons, Risch introduce bill to renew, update AGOA for 16 years

A new bill introduced by key senators would renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act for an additional 16 years, to 2041, and update the initiative by spacing out eligibility reviews, providing a range of enforcement options and tapping the State Department and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to conduct such reviews and enforce the program, among other changes. The “ AGOA Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024 ,” introduced by Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE) and James Risch (R-ID)...

USTR releases Taiwan, Kenya text summaries, cites commitment to transparency

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Friday released summaries of U.S. negotiating texts in ongoing talks with Taiwan and Kenya, claiming a strong commitment to transparency as lawmakers gear up to grill U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai during hearings later this month – and revealing some potential divergences in Washington’s approaches to labor issues with the two countries. The two sets of summaries cover U.S. proposals on labor, environment and agriculture under the U.S.-Taiwan 21st Century Trade Initiative...

Analysts: U.S. should build on AGOA with FTAs, critical mineral deals

Editor's note: This story was updated after initial publication to correct the spelling of Tony Carroll, senior adviser at Manchester Trade, Ltd. The U.S. must build upon the African Growth and Opportunity Act by extending beneficiaries free trade agreements or by forging new critical mineral deals, analysts proposed on Wednesday. The Biden administration has pushed Congress to modernize the trade preference program as lawmakers consider renewal legislation ahead of AGOA’s September 2025 expiration. During a November 2023 AGOA forum...

USAID unveils U.S.-Africa ag ‘trade platform’

The U.S. Agency for International Development on Wednesday announced a new “trade platform” created to connect U.S. food retailers with African agricultural producers. Through the “Africa Trade Desk,” USAID seeks to establish a “secure supply chain from Africa to U.S. retailers by consolidating logistics, insurance, and track and trace technology from farm to retailer,” the agency said in a March 27 statement . USAID said it expects the trade platform to facilitate “at least $300 million in export sales” between...

U.S., Kenya to hold trade talks in Washington next week

The U.S. and Kenya next week will begin a fourth in-person Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiating round in Washington, DC, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced on Wednesday. The U.S. will be led in the talks, set for April 2-12, by Assistant USTR for Africa Constance Hamilton. The Kenyan delegation will be led by Principal Secretary for Trade Alfred K’Ombudo. “The negotiators last met in person under the STIP in January 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, and have...

Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation expands to 38 countries

Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation countries last week welcomed three new members at a senior officials’ meeting, where they also agreed to deepen cooperation on sustainability and other areas. The partnership was launched last September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting. The goal is to enhance cooperation among the 32 participating Atlantic Ocean countries on environmental and economic issues. At the time, Secretary of State Antony Blinken touted the agreement’s potential for “strengthening free and open maritime...

Biden to host Kenya’s president for a state visit; White House says trade on the agenda

President Biden will host Kenyan President William Ruto for a state visit in late May, the White House announced on Friday, saying the two would discuss a range of issues including how to bolster trade and investment. The May 23 visit “will mark the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Kenya diplomatic relations and will celebrate a partnership that is delivering for the people of the United States and Kenya,” the announcement says . “The visit will strengthen our shared commitment to advance...

Tai: Ongoing trade talks feature ‘highest-standard labor texts ever developed’

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has developed the “highest-standard” labor provisions ever as it negotiates a host of agreements including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, USTR Katherine Tai said on Tuesday, contending IPEF and other similar deals would commit partners to tackling forced labor in their supply chains. “USTR developed and is negotiating the highest-standard labor texts ever developed for three landmark agreements – the Indo Pacific Economic Framework, the United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade and...

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