Relief for Kenya's Sh95b exports as Trump renews AGOA for one year
Business
By
Brian Ngugi
| Feb 04, 2026
US President Donald Trump signed a one-year extension of a key African trade preference programme into law on Tuesday, delivering a vital 12-month reprieve for Kenyan exporters of apparel, textiles, and other goods who faced punishing tariffs since the pact lapsed last year.
The move reinstates duty-free access to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) retroactively from September 30, 2025, and extends it through December 31, 2026.
The programme had expired in September, throwing tens of thousands of African jobs into jeopardy and disrupting over $8 billion in annual trade. The US House of Representatives last month approved a three-year AGOA extension, but the Senate reduced it to one year. The former agreed with this change.
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“Today, President Trump signed into law legislation that reauthorises the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) trade preference programme through December 31, 2026, with retroactive effect to September 30, 2025,” said United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a statement after Trump’s signing.
Kenyan officials, business lobbies and individual traders welcomed the extension, saying it marks a relief for the export sector and thousands of workers who depend on it.
For Kenya, a leading Agoa beneficiary, the renewal averts a potential crisis in the critical export manufacturing sector. The immediate effect will be the restoration of duty-free terms for key exports and the possibility of refunds for tariffs paid during the lapse.
Agoa, first enacted in 2000, allows eligible sub-Saharan African countries to export more than 1,800 products to the United States without tariffs. Kenya has leveraged this to build a formidable apparel and textile industry, which directly employs over 66,800 people, according to government data.
In 2024, Kenya exported $737.3 million (Sh95.1 billion) worth of apparel to the US under Agoa, according to US trade data.
The sector had been in limbo since October, when the expiration triggered tariffs of up to 10 per cent on shipments, making Kenyan goods less competitive and threatening orders from major US retailers.
“We have been operating on a knife’s edge, absorbing costs and reassuring nervous buyers,” said the managing director of a textile factory in Nairobi’s Athi River export zone, who declined to be named due to company policy. “The signing of the law means we can now breathe, protect jobs, and plan with certainty for the rest of the year.”
A critical provision in the extension is its retroactive application. Greer confirmed this would allow for the “reliquidation” of duties, meaning Kenyan and other eligible exporters can apply for refunds on tariffs paid since September 30.
While the extension provides immediate stability, US officials signalled it is a stopgap measure. In a statement, Ambassador Greer said his office would work with Congress this year to “modernise” Agoa to align with President Trump’s “America First” trade policy.
“Agoa for the 21st century must demand more from our trading partners and yield more market access for US businesses, farmers, and ranchers,” Greer said.
This foreshadows potential negotiations aimed at rebalancing trade benefits. The one-year timeframe, endorsed by the US Senate from a three-year extension initially passed by the US House of Representatives, creates another deadline cliff at the end of 2026, injecting medium-term uncertainty.
The programme’s renewal follows vigorous lobbying from African governments, US industry groups like the US Chamber of Commerce, and major retailers reliant on African supply chains.
They argued that allowing Agoa to die would undermine US strategic interests and economic partnerships on the continent.
For now, on factory floors across Nairobi and Mombasa, businesses said focus is on recovery. “The first call I made was to our US client to confirm the duty-free status is back,” said the Athi River factory manager via telephone.
“The next is to tell our workers that their jobs are secure. This year just got a lot brighter.”