By Doyinsola Oladipo
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Kenya’s President William Ruto said on Wednesday his country expects to sign a trade deal with the United States by year-end and that he will be pushing Washington to extend its duty-free agreement with Africa for at least five years.
Ruto will be meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later on Wednesday to discuss the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), he said in an interview on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The 25-year-old act grants qualifying African nations duty-free access to the U.S. market and is due to expire this month.
“I will be asking him for the U.S. to consider seriously renewing and extending AGOA for at least a minimum of five years, because it is a platform that connects Africa and the U.S. in a very fundamental way, and it can go a long way in solving some of the trade deficits and challenges that exist at the moment,” Ruto said.
Ruto said he believes the U.S. administration has increased its appreciation for AGOA.
A bipartisan effort to secure a further extension to AGOA last year did not get a vote in Congress. Trump’s return to the White House in January, with his tariff-driven trade policy, has further cast doubt on an extension.
“AGOA gives both Africa and the U.S. the best chance to expand and deepen trade,” Ruto said.
ACCESS TO US MARKETS
The U.S. and Kenya have made “good progress” on a bilateral trade agreement, he said, adding that he expects to sign a deal before the end of 2025. In April, President Donald Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Kenyan goods.
Kenya is looking for access to the U.S. market for its apparel, textile and agricultural products including tea, coffee and avocados. Ruto wants to explore new areas like mining and fishing. If a deal is reached, it would be the first of its kind between a sub-Saharan African nation and Washington.
On the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ruto said a proposal has been made for the U.S., Qatar, the East African Community and the South African Development Community to come together next month to discuss the situation.
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi said on Monday that a U.S.-mediated peace deal signed with Rwanda in June has not calmed fighting in eastern Congo.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ruto told the U.N. General Assembly that while Kenya had stepped up in Haiti to lead an international force to combat armed gangs, the world had not shown up for the Caribbean nation and the mission lacked logistical support.
“We need more numbers,” Ruto told Reuters. “We need more logistics, we need more equipment, and we need more financial support to be able to carry this through.”
Armed gangs have taken control of almost all of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince in a conflict that has forced some 1.3 million people from their homes, and fueled famine-level hunger.
(Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)
