LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) – Kenya expects to finish talks for a trade and investment deal with the United States by the end of this year and to sign the agreement by April 2024, Trade Minister Moses Kuria said. Kenya is one of the United States’ top trading partners in Africa and has been a major beneficiary of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a preferential trade programme that will expire in 2025.

The deal would not address tariffs but would complement AGOA and cushion the blow for Kenya if the programme is not extended, Kuria told Reuters in an interview in London on Wednesday after meeting British trade officials.

“It is full steam ahead for both the Kenyan and U.S. sides,” Kuria said. “By the close of this year, we will have finalised the actual negotiations to pave way for a signing probably by April next year.”

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration began negotiations in 2020 for a full free trade agreement with Kenya to lower tariffs between the two nations. But the administration of President Joe Biden, which has shunned traditional trade deals, did not resume those talks.

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