In a report shared by Kenyan.co.ke, over 60,000 Kenyan livelihoods are at risk as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) nears its expiry in September 2025. This agreement has allowed Kenya to export goods to the United States without paying duties for over 20 years.
Factories that depend on this deal, such as the United Aryan EPZ in Nairobi, could be in trouble. These factories supply big U.S. clothing brands like Levi’s and Wrangler. Without AGOA, their products may become too expensive for American buyers.
U.S. President Donald Trump had already introduced a 10% tariff on some African exports, including those from Kenya.
This move affected Kenya’s advantage in the textile market. With the AGOA deal now close to ending, the future of Kenya’s textile exports is even more uncertain. Many workers in export processing zones are now worried about losing their jobs.
About 50,000 to 55,000 Kenyans are directly employed in these zones. In addition, another 10,000 to 15,000 people earn a living by providing services linked to the textile industry. These include transporters, food vendors, and cotton farmers. If AGOA is not renewed, all these people could be affected.
Kenya exports goods worth over Ksh109 billion to the U.S. each year. Most of this comes from apparel made in EPZs. Losing this market could lead companies to move to other countries where they can enjoy better trade deals. That would leave thousands of Kenyans jobless and expose them to poverty.
Entire communities that rely on these factories could collapse.The Kenyan government is trying to stop this from happening. Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo recently met U.S. officials during the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in April.
He raised concerns about the new tariffs and how they are hurting Kenya’s exports. These talks also focused on how the current trade environment is affecting investment and access to markets.
The goal is to find a way to extend AGOA or replace it with a better deal that keeps Kenya’s goods competitive in the U.S. market.
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