{"id":21465,"date":"2026-01-13T20:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/21465\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T20:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:19:08","slug":"state-rejects-claims-of-shelving-china-trade-deal-to-prioritise-agoa-renewal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/21465\/","title":{"rendered":"State rejects claims of shelving China trade deal to prioritise Agoa renewal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing\u2019Oei. \/KORIR SING’OEI\/X<\/p>\n

The government has dismissed claims that Kenya has halted negotiations with China on a preferential trade agreement to focus on renewing its participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), calling the reports misleading and unfounded.<\/p>\n

The clarification follows a local media report alleging that Nairobi shelved ongoing talks with Beijing under pressure from Washington, prioritising efforts to regain access to Agoa. <\/p>\n

The report, citing unnamed sources, claimed the China deal was on hold pending approvals by the Cabinet, Parliament, and President William Ruto.<\/p>\n

Agoa, enacted in 2000, allowed qualifying goods from eligible African countries to enter the US market duty-free. Over its 25-year lifespan, the programme covered more than 1,800 products and became a cornerstone of US\u2013Africa trade. <\/p>\n

The framework expired on September 30, 2025, although discussions to extend or reauthorise it are ongoing in Washington.<\/p>\n

Responding to the claims, Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Korir Sing\u2019Oei said Kenya\u2019s engagement with China had not been suspended and was at an advanced stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis report is completely unfounded,\u201d Sing\u2019Oei said in a statement posted on X.<\/p>\n

He revealed that Kenyan and Chinese negotiating teams concluded talks on an interim framework late last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn 19th December 2025, our teams concluded negotiations of an Early Harvest Arrangement for the Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Development,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The arrangement is intended to unlock immediate benefits while negotiations continue on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.<\/p>\n

Sing\u2019Oei added that both sides have already exchanged tariff schedules and agreed on rules of origin for products eligible for preferential treatment, underscoring progress in the talks.<\/p>\n

He emphasised that Kenya\u2019s pursuit of renewed Agoa access does not undermine its engagements with other partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see no tension between concluding a market access arrangement with China and our push for Agoa reauthorisation, as well as a separate Bilateral Trade Agreement with the United States,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The expiry of Agoa has affected Kenya\u2019s export sector, particularly textiles and apparel, which had relied on duty-free access to the US market. <\/p>\n

Industry stakeholders estimate that more than 66,000 direct jobs have been lost since the programme lapsed, with factories scaling down operations or shutting down. <\/p>\n

Exporters have also faced higher costs following the re-imposition of US tariffs, raising concerns about investor confidence and long-term market stability.<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, the government has intensified diplomatic efforts to secure Agoa\u2019s renewal while simultaneously deepening trade ties with other major economies. <\/p>\n

Sing\u2019Oei affirmed that Kenya\u2019s strategy focuses on diversifying market access and safeguarding its economic interests globally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing\u2019Oei. \/KORIR SING’OEI\/X The government has dismissed claims that Kenya has halted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[8212,13390,80,13389,13392,13391,13394,100,13393,101],"class_list":{"0":"post-21465","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kenya","8":"tag-agoa","9":"tag-agoa-renewal-kenya","10":"tag-kenya","11":"tag-kenya-china-trade-agreement","12":"tag-kenya-us-trade-relations","13":"tag-korir-singoei-statement","14":"tag-preferential-trade-agreements-africa","15":"tag-star-news-kenya","16":"tag-textile-jobs-kenya","17":"tag-the-star"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}