About 66,000 jobs in Kenya have been saved by President Donald Trump’s signing an extension of AGOA initiative.
According the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), the extension provides stability for exporters and safeguards more than 66,000 jobs, particularly in the apparel, textile and agribusiness sectors that depend on duty-free access to the U.S.
“The signing of this Act provides the immediate certainty required to maintain investor confidence and protect existing jobs,” said KEPSA Chief Executive Officer Carole Kariuki.
“While the current extension is shorter than the three years initially passed by Congress, we take note of the U.S. administration’s intent to modernise the programme.”
This bill extends through December 31, 2028, trade preferences that provide duty-free access to the U.S. market for most exports from eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
The bill also extends through December 31, 2031, customs user fees and merchandise processing fees.
The extended period applies to the following provisions of AGOA: (1) the duty-free treatment of certain apparel articles from beneficiary SSA countries; and (2) the third-country fabric provision, which allows limited amounts of apparel articles from lesser developed beneficiary SSA countries to qualify for duty-free treatment, even if the yarns and fabrics used in their production are imported from non-AGOA countries (e.g., apparel assembled in Kenya with Chinese fabrics).
The bill also provides for the refund of duties (i.e., liquidation or reliquidation of entries) on articles from eligible SSA countries that entered into the United States after September 30, 2025, and before the date of this bill’s enactment. A refund request must be filed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and must contain sufficient information for CBP to locate the entry or, if the entry cannot be located, reconstruct the entry. CBP must refund any duties previously paid with respect to the entry within 90 days.
