Kenya has finally signed the Kenya- European Union Economic Partnership Agreement at the Nairobi Statehouse. Kenya's main export market and one of its biggest commercial partners is the EU. In 2022, trade between the EU and Kenya was €3.3 billion, a 27% rise from the previous year. Trade between Kenya and the EU is balanced, with a €768 million small surplus in the EU's favour.

Kenyan produce mostly supplies the EU with fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Mineral and chemical items as well as machinery are the key exports from the EU to Kenya.

With 16% of Kenya's total exports in 2022, the EU is the country's top export destination. At 10% of all imports into Kenya, the EU ranks as the country's third-largest source of imports.

In the political and economic spheres, Kenya and the EU are important partners, and this agreement will advance our partnership. Kenya is one of the continent's most stable democracies, and it is becoming more and more influential both locally and globally.

In order to further common values and interests, prosperity, democratic stability, peace and security, and multilateralism in the region, Kenya is one of the main EU allies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

An essential element of interaction between the two partners, the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Kenya and the EU was specifically included as a major deliverable of the EU-Kenya Strategic discussion, which was initiated in June 2021.

The EU-Kenya EPA seeks to carry out the terms of the EU-East African Community (EAC) EPA, which was signed in 2014 and is available for accession by further EAC nations. The basis for bilateral implementation is the East African Community's 2021 resolution to permit individual progress based on the "variable geometry" approach.

Since 2016, when Kenya, Rwanda, and the EU Member nations signed the regional agreement but not the other EAC partner nations, the accord's application has been prohibited. The EAC Partner States will still be able to join the EU-Kenya Agreement.

The EU-Kenya EPA will promote investment and trade between the two countries and support long-term, steady economic growth. Together with it, trade-related development cooperation will take place.

Liberalizing trade between Kenya and the EU is the primary goal of the EPA. The Kenya-EU EPA anticipates asymmetric tariff removal, just like other EPAs. Practically speaking, this implies that any commodities from Kenya (except from weapons) are free to enter the EU market without facing duties or quotas as soon as the EPA is applied.

Kenya would profit from transitional periods as it gradually opens its market to imports from the EU. Kenya will also have the option to keep certain products off of the liberalization list.

Lastly, Kenya might gain from additional clauses that take into account its development requirements, like specific protections for agriculture, steps to ensure food security, and protections for the infant industry.