(Ecofin Agency) - The agreement comes after a deal with the UK and talks with the USA. The EU, the other signing party, is Kenya’s main export market. In 2022, trade between the two parties reached $3.6 billion. 

Kenya and the European Union (EU) recently signed a free trade agreement to boost their exchanges. The ceremony took place in Nairobi, earlier today, June 19, in the presence of Kenyan President William Ruto and senior EU officials.

The new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) aims to liberalize trade between the two parties, notably by offering Kenyan products duty-free access to the European market. In return, Nairobi will gradually open its market to a greater number of European products.

“The deal assures Kenya of an expanded, stable, lucrative, and sustainable market, enhancing trade and investment opportunities. This will create employment for millions of people, expand earnings and spur sustainable growth,” President William Ruto praised.  

Beyond offering interesting prospects for the development of trade relations between the two parties, this agreement once again confirms Kenya's position as the main gateway to the East African market. In 2020, the UK, whose EU exit was still fresh at the time, signed an agreement with Kenya. By 2024, the USA is hopeful for a free trade agreement with Nairobi. 

At a time when Western countries are looking for ways to challenge China's position as Africa's leading trading partner, Brussels hopes to make this agreement the new cornerstone of its relations with East African countries. In 2014, the EU concluded a broader Economic Partnership Agreement with the East African Community (EAC). This trade and development agreement, which provides for the immediate opening of European markets to products from countries in the region, in return for a gradual opening of East African markets to European products, was never implemented. Of the five EAC members at the time (Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda), only Kenya ratified it. Two years ago, the other members of the bloc allowed it to pursue a renegotiation of the agreement in its name.

For President William Ruto, the deal is “a giant step forward that sets the stage for the initiation of the East African Community partner states into the Agreement.”

The EU is Kenya's second-largest trading partner and its main export market. In 2022, trade between the two parties reached $3.6 billion, up 27% from 2018 values. EU imports from Kenya total $1.3 billion, mainly vegetables, fruit, and flowers. EU exports to Kenya total $2.3 billion, mainly mineral products, chemicals, and machinery.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou