With the U.S. Likely to Focus Less Attention on China in Africa, Kenya’s Free Trade Deal Now in Question
Outgoing U.S. ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter stopped by the State House on Wednesday to meet with President Uhuru Kenyatta (photo). McCarter, a Trump political appointee, will soon be leaving his post now that a new administration has taken power in Washington, D.C.
One of McCarter’s signature initiatives was the Free Trade Agreement with Kenya that’s now in limbo both because of an upcoming Congressionally-mandated negotiating deadline and because the Biden administration is expected to take a different approach towards China, according to Professor Michael Chege from the University of Nairobi:
“We should expect a radical departure because the idea of following a single country FTA was intended to counter-balance China and its influence.
“Kenya was expected to become an example, with other African countries expected to follow suit if it succeeded. It was part of a big grand strategy that was long-term and assumed he would be re-elected but this will not happen now. The window for negotiations given by Congress expires in July, there is just not enough time.”
Read the full story on The Standard website.
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The post With the U.S. Likely to Focus Less Attention on China in Africa, Kenya’s Free Trade Deal Now in Question appeared first on The China Africa Project.
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