In the latest development in United States (US)-Kenya relations, which are increasingly resembling coercion, the US has asked Kenya to publicly support Israel as one of the pre-conditions for a free trade agreement (FTA).
Washington has laid out a series of objectives in its FTA negotiations with Kenya, and has said that any prospective agreement must “discourage politically motivated actions to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel”.
It also requests the “elimination of politically motivated, non-tariff barriers on Israeli goods, services, or other commerce imposed on Israel; and the elimination of State-sponsored, unsanctioned foreign boycotts of Israel, or compliance with the Arab League Boycott of Israel”.
These purported pre-conditions were, in essence, confirmed by US Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter, who said, “The United States published its negotiating position before negotiations began for all to see. We are negotiating with transparency and openness.” He added, “This is how we have treated the numerous other countries with which we have concluded successful free trade agreements benefiting both parties.”
This comes amidst the US’ push to facilitate somewhat of a global alliance against Iran and its allies by normalizing diplomatic and economic ties between Israel and a whole host of countries. To begin with, it has brokered such agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain and has pushed other Arab Gulf states to do the same. However, the latest developments in negotiations with Kenya reveal that it is also branching out beyond the region. This would be seen as a significant foreign policy coup ahead of the November elections for President Donald Trump.
Kenya, for its part, is able to take such pre-conditions with the East African Community (EAC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). WTO guidelines, in particular, stipulate that developed countries, like the US, must provide some degree of “preferential treatment” to developing countries, such as Kenya, “without expecting reciprocal treatment”.
In fact, these are not the only conditions that the US has laid out in its negotiations with Kenya. It has also called on Kenya to remove taxes on digital products and also remove requirements for US companies to store data locally.
Furthermore, major oil companies are lobbying the Office of the United States Trade Representative to pressure Kenya into removing what they see as obstacles to dumping plastic waste in the African country. The request was lodged by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) on behalf of several key players in the oil industry—including oil and chemical giants Shell, Exxon, Total, DuPont, and Dow.
In accordance with Trump’s “America First” policy, the proposed FTA aims to reduce or eliminate tariffs and other “unjustified trade restrictions”. For example, the US wants Kenya to accelerate the customs process for its express delivery shipments.
It also seeks market entry into the Kenyan telecommunications industry, “fairer and more open conditions” for financial services trade, and ‘full market access’ for US pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
US Insists on Public Support for Israel as Precondition for FTA With Kenya
This comes amidst the US’ push to facilitate somewhat of a global alliance against Iran and its allies by normalizing diplomatic and economic ties between Israel and a whole host of countries.
September 23, 2020
US President Donald Trump (L) and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta on their way to a meeting at the White House in February 2020. SOURCE: DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES