Kenyan President William Ruto said he expected to sign a trade agreement with the US before the end of the year, as he looks for a reprieve from Washington’s punishing tariffs.
Ruto also vowed to pursue a five-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act — a 25-year-old free-trade agreement between sub-Saharan Africa and the US — in a meeting with the American secretary of state.
Though the region’s trade reliance on Washington has rapidly diminished as China has become its biggest market, several nations still rely on the US for a large share of their exports, the loss of which would put millions of livelihoods at risk.
