WASHINGTON – The United States and Kenya will hold an in-person round of conceptual discussions under their Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) in Washington, DC, from February 6-10, 2023. The United States delegation will be led by Assistant United States Trade Representative Connie Hamilton, and will include representatives from several other government agencies.
United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and then-Kenyan Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina launched the U.S.-Kenya STIP on July 14, 2022 and announced that their governments would pursue enhanced engagement leading to high standard commitments in a wide range of areas. The goal of the Partnership is to increase investment; promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth; benefit workers, consumers, and businesses (including micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises); and support African regional economic integration.
The joint statement identified a set of initial issues on which the United States and Kenya share the goal of negotiating high-standard commitments in order to achieve economically meaningful outcomes. On August 5, 2022, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative published in the Federal Register a request for public comment on objectives for those areas of initial focus:
(1) agriculture, (2) anti-corruption, (3) digital trade, (4) environment and climate action, (5) good regulatory practices, (6) micro, small, and medium size enterprises, (7) protecting worker’s rights and protections, (8) supporting the participation of women, youth, and others in trade, (9) standards collaboration, (10) trade facilitation and customs procedures, and (11) services domestic regulation.
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