The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) held a third round of negotiations with Kenya under the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP). Key issues addressed included agriculture, anti-corruption, domestic regulation of services, digital trade, the environment and climate action, good regulatory practices, standards collaboration, trade facilitation and customs procedures.
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Constance Hamilton led the U.S. delegation for the round on Jan. 29-31 and focused on agriculture, good regulatory practices and workers’ rights and protections, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) said in Capital Update.
“With a population of about 50 million, an expanding middle class, and relatively strong tourism-driven demand from its hotel, restaurant, and institutional food service sectors, Kenya has the potential to be a significant export market for U.S. pork. NPPC supports the talks aimed at opening Kenya’s market to U.S. pork,” NPPC wrote.
After the July 2022 announcement of the STIP, NPPC urged U.S. trade negotiators to press Kenya to remove unjustified restrictions on U.S. pork imports in comments to USTR.
“Those include onerous testing and inspection requirements, non-science-based sanitary and phytosanitary barriers, as well as failure to recognize the equivalence of U.S. pork production practices and U.S. food safety inspection and approval system for pork slaughter, and processing, and storage plants,” NPPC wrote.
