Put Healthy Communities Over Corporate Profits in Kenya Trade Talks

While the world struggles to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, corporate lobby groups representing Big Pharma, Big Oil and Wall Street are pushing the Trump administration to secure a Free Trade Agreement with Kenya that’s poised to become a template for future trade deals throughout the region.

Our coalition judges every trade agreement on the same basic criteria: does it contribute overall to a more just and sustainable global economy?

Like any new pact, the potential exists for a U.S.-Kenya Trade Agreement to meet this most basic of goals, but to do so will require a significant change in direction from past trade agreements.  We can’t let corporations like Pfizer, Proctor & Gamble, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Citibank call the shots.

Kenya faces particular struggles with persistent child labor abuses and threats from climate change.  Helping rectify both of these ongoing problems should be among the highest priorities in a U.S.-Kenya pact.  Without strong provisions on these and other people-centered issues, this trade deal is simply not worth doing.

Trade policies that are written in the shadows while the public is distracted always have disastrous consequences for working people and the planet.  Corporate lobbyists are already describing the proposed U.S.-Kenya deal as a “toe-hold” agreement for sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.

UPDATE:  Thank you to the almost 5,000 people who submitted official public comments on the proposed Kenya trade deal to the U.S. Trade Representative through our site. Together, they questioned the justifications for such a pact and demanded transparent negotiations that put working people and the planet ahead of corporate profits if talks move forward.

Read PDF of CTC’s comments on the proposed U.S.-Kenya Trade Agreement