Africa and The Middle East

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday notified Capitol Hill that the Trump administration plans to negotiate a comprehensive trade deal with Kenya, setting up the start of negotiations as early as mid-June.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer this week will consult with House and Senate advisory groups before officially notifying Congress of the administration’s intent to initiate trade talks with Kenya, he told Inside U.S. Trade on Wednesday.

“We cannot wait until AGOA is gone then our trade collapses, we have to prepare,” said Agriculture Secretary Peter Munya.

In a series of Generalized System of Preferences moves, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Friday said it planned to suspend duty-free treatment for Thailand, restore some benefits for Ukraine and kick off reviews of South Africa and Azerbaijan.

“A deep FTA presents clear and desirable advantages to both sides, and it is important to move forward and grasp the opportunity,” a new report says.

Lane spoke about China, her push for a WTO plurilateral to combat gender discrimination, and her work on the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is asking the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to restore its benefits under the African Growth Opportunity Act, claiming its new administration has made progress in addressing the political corruption and human rights violations that led USTR to revoke its AGOA eligibility in 2011.

The theme this year: “AGOA and the Future:  Developing a New Paradigm to Guide U.S.-Africa Trade and Investment.”