Address US-Kenya trade

By nominating billionaire Meg Whiteman as his Nairobi envoy, US President Joe Biden, if the Senate approves, will be sending to Kenya a person who understands the art of business.

The diplomatic relations between Kenya and the US have improved in recent times and Washington recognises Nairobi’s strategic position in the Indian Ocean belt.

But more needs to be done. During the Trump administration, Kenya had started to negotiate a free trade pact with US but this was never concluded after a change in government.

We hope President Biden will revive this bilateral discussion, as played by some Republican senators in August, so that by 2025, when the The African Growth and Opportunity Act, which eliminates import tariffs on goods from eligible African nations comes to an end, we shall have a pact in place.

This is important because at the domestic front, and after Kenya Airways got a direct link to the US, the main poser is how to increase the level of trade between the two countries and address the trade imbalance which stands above $266 million.

If Ms Whiteman is approved, the business community will have a reliable person who understands the dynamics of international business and more so in this digital era.

The trade community will also be buoyed by Biden’s policy to fight corruption globally and he will no doubt win the support of the civil society and business community in Kenya. This will also resonate with what we have always held true: That a nation cannot be built through sleaze.

Whiteman will also be coming to a region that is facing political turmoil and at a time that Kenya will be going through another general election. 

The decision to send a top-notch envoy to Nairobi means that Kenya has become a critical station in the US foreign policy. Both ways, Kenyans must seize this occasion to do business with the world’s largest economy.