Kenya is the sixth leading exporter to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) after South Africa and Nigeria.
The pact has been in place since 2000 and is expected to end in September next year
However, it comes second to South Africa in exportation of non-oil products.
The 2024 biannual AGOA report by the US government released last week shows Kenya exported goods worth $510 million (Sh67.8 billion), mostly apparel.
According to the report, the top sub-Saharan African suppliers to the United States in 2023 were South Africa ($14 billion), Nigeria ($5.7 billion), Ghana ($1.7 billion), Angola ($1.2 billion), and Côte d’Ivoire ($948 million).
South Africa was the largest exporter of non-crude oil products ($3.6 billion in 2023), supplying a broad set of products including passenger vehicles, yachts and catamarans, precious jewelry, chemicals, and citrus fruit under AGOA.
Ghana ($340 million), Madagascar ($339 million), and Angola ($260 million) were the next largest exporters under AGOA in 2023.
Total two-way goods trade with sub-Saharan Africa totaled $47.5 billion in 2023, a 6.2 percent increase from $44.7 billion in 2021.
U.S. goods exports were $18.2 billion in 2023, up 10.4 percent from $16.5 billion in 2021 primarily due to increased exports of aircraft and petroleum products.
According to the report, the U.S. goods imports were $29.3 billion in 2023, up 3.8 percent from $28.2 billion in 2021 mostly due to increased imports of petroleum and silverware).
Top U.S imports from sub-Saharan Africa in 2023 included crude petroleum ($7.3 billion), precious metals ($4.7 billion), gemstones ($2.2 billion), silverware and related articles ($1.8 billion), motor vehicles ($1.7 billion), and apparel ($1.4 billion).
Top U.S. goods exported to sub-Saharan Africa in 2023 included aircraft ($1.8 billion), petroleum products ($1.3 billion), motor vehicles ($1.2 billion), natural gas and components ($1.2 billion), and certain motor vehicle parts ($861 million).
The top destination markets in 2023 were South Africa ($7.2 billion), Nigeria ($2.6 billion), Ethiopia ($1.2 billion), Ghana ($850 million), and Angola ($595 million).
The services sector remains a growing component of the U.S-Africa trade and investment relationship, a year to the end of the trade pact between the country and the continent.
The biannual report by the US government shows exports of services to Africa increased to $14.4 billion (Sh1.8 trillion) from $11.1 billion (Sh1.42 trillion) in 2020.
According to the report, the leading services export sectors included travel services ($3.6 billion), financial services ($2.4 billion), business and management consulting and public relations services ($1.6 billion), and air transport ($1.0 billion).
Similarly, U.S. imports of services increased to $10.4 billion in 2022 from $5.4 billion in 2020.
The leading services import sectors in 2022 were travel ($4.6 billion); personal, cultural, and recreational services ($846 million); business and management consulting and public relations services ($774 million); and air transport ($712 million).
Since its enactment in 2000, AGOA has been at the core of U.S. trade and investment policy with sub-Saharan Africa, providing eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to over 1,800 products, in addition to the more than 5,100 products that are eligible under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme.
Although legal authorization for benefits under GSP expired on December 31, 2020, tariff lines covered by GSP remained eligible for AGOA beneficiaries.
Currently, 32 countries are eligible for AGOA benefits.
In his November 2023 statement supporting AGOA reauthorization, President Biden called AGOA a “landmark, bipartisan law that has formed a bedrock for U.S. trade with sub-Saharan Africa for more than two decades.”