US officials to visit Nairobi as they seek to drive more exports to Kenya

Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau meets with his counterpart Mr Anthony R. Foxx (right), US Transportation Secretary during his visit to Washington DC in the United States, July 1, 2014. FILE PHOTO | AFP 

In Summary

• The push to increase US exports to Africa is being initiated at a time when some members of Congress are calling for greater reciprocity in trade between the US and African countries.
• Noting that US sales to sub-Saharan Africa reached a record level of $25.4 billion last year, Assistant Secretary of Commerce Arun Kumar told reporters on Monday, "Our view is it can be a lot more."
• The US export drive and the Agoa extension legislation pending in Congress are on "two separate tracks," he said.

By KEVIN J. KELLEY
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NEW YORK

A US Cabinet official is bringing executives of 14 companies to Nairobi this week in a bid to persuade Kenya to buy more goods from the United States.

The delegation led by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx includes representatives of manufacturers such as General Electric, Honeywell International and First Solar Development.

Noting that US sales to sub-Saharan Africa reached a record level of $25.4 billion last year, Assistant Secretary of Commerce Arun Kumar told reporters on Monday, "Our view is it can be a lot more."

Mr Kumar, who heads his agency's global markets division, spoke in a teleconference from South Africa, where the US delegation is visiting, in addition to Kenya and Mozambique.

The push to increase US exports to Africa is being initiated at a time when some members of Congress are calling for greater reciprocity in trade between the US and African countries.

These advocates point out that the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the main US trade stimulus programme for the sub-Saharan region, is focused solely on boosting sales of African products to the US.

TWO-WAY STREET
The time has come, some in Congress say, to make trade promotion more of a two-way street.

The value of exports from the US to Africa reached a record level of $25.4 billion last year. But "our view is it could be a lot more," Mr Kumar commented.

He added that the mission to Kenya, South Africa and Mozambique should be seen as unrelated to the current effort to renew Agoa for a 10-year period.

The US export drive and the Agoa extension legislation pending in Congress are on "two separate tracks," he said.

As indicated by the involvement of Transportation Secretary Foxx, the Obama administration is hoping that the visitors will find buyers in Kenya for machinery and equipment related to road building and other infrastructure projects.

An increase in US exports to Africa would likely lead to a boost in US investment in Africa, Mr Kumar suggested. "Investments follow exports," he said.