President William Ruto on Thursday evening convened a consultative meeting with representatives of the local apparel industry at State House, Nairobi, amid looming job losses following the expiry of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
AGOA is a trade agreement between the United States and Sub-Saharan African Countries. It provides eligible African countries with duty-free access to the US market for over 1,800 products.
The trade agreement has played a crucial role in Kenya's economic development. Besides increasing the country's foreign exchange through exports, it has created more than 50,000 jobs.
However, the deal expired on September 30 after President Donald Trump's administration failed to renew the agreement, disrupting trade between African countries and the US.
During the meeting, Ruto briefed stakeholders on his recent discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to Washington DC.
According to the Head of State, they explored not only the extension of AGOA but also the establishment of a long-term framework to guarantee stable and predictable market access for our products.
"This will go a long way in strengthening our apparel industry, which remains vital to our economy and the livelihoods of thousands of families," Ruto affirmed.
Ruto went ahead to assure the stakeholders that operations in the industry would continue without disruption as talks with the US government proceed with urgency.
The Head of State's meeting with the apparel industry stakeholders come after several Kenyans expressed fears over job losses following the lapse of the 25-year-old deal.
In an earlier interview on Wednesday, 1 October, a manager from one of the leading apparel firms revealed that the company was planning to reduce its operations after the US declined to renew the agreement. They added that they were seeking alternative markets for their goods.
Meanwhile, this comes days after Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui expressed optimism in the renewal of the AGOA deal.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, the CS said Kenya was actively engaging the US for the renewal of the pact.
