From bribes to opaque tender deals: Why Trump has flagged Kenya as corruption haven

President Ruto and US President Trump at the Rwanda-DRC peace deal signing, Washington DC. December 4, 2025. [AFP] The Trump administration has delivered a scathing assessment of Kenya's business climate, branding the country a haven of corruption where only the "well-connected and powerful" can secure lucrative government contracts, even as the two nations press ahead with negotiations for a landmark trade deal. In its annual National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report, released in March 2026, reviewed by The Standard, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) painted a dark picture of the obstacles facing American companies in Kenya, placing corruption at the top of the list. "Corruption remains a substantial barrier to trade and investment in Kenya," the report said, noting that US firms "continue to report challenges competing against foreign firms that are willing to ignore legal standards or engage in bribery and other forms of corruption." With negotiations for a new trade pact underway, the report's blunt language, particularly on corruption, suggests Washington will demand substantial governance reforms from the Ruto administration before opening its market further. The USTR's assessment singled out government procurement as a particular sore point. "Corruption is widely reported to affect government procurements at the national and county levels," the document stated, adding that Kenya "has not effectively implemented its anti-corruption laws." American businesses, the report said, "continue to report direct and indirect requests for bribes from multiple levels of the Kenyan Government," leaving US firms at a disadvantage against competitors willing to pay for preferential treatment. The adverse evaluation lands at a critical moment. Nairobi and Washington are deep in negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement intended to deepen economic ties and open markets. The USTR's detailed catalogue of Kenyan trade barriers and its blunt language on graft threatens to complicate those talks, as US officials are likely to demand concrete reforms before finalising any deal. Despite the many obstacles, trade between the two countries grew sharply in 2025. US goods exports to Kenya jumped 28.5 per cent to $990.8 million (about Sh128.8 billion), while imports from Kenya rose 16.5 per cent to $858.9 million (roughly Sh111.7 billion). That left the United States with a trade gap in its favour, meaning it sold more to Kenya than it bought, worth $131.9 million (approximately Sh17.1 billion), a 285 per cent jump from the previous year. But the report warns that these figures could be far higher if Kenya dismantled the web of non-tariff barriers, high taxes and burdensome regulations that stifle American exports. The US faulted the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for cumbersome customs processes, citing a costly pre-export verification programme and inconsistent application of valuation rules that delay shipments and drive up costs for American exporters. Kenya's tariff regime remains a formidable hurdle, the US says. The country's average applied tariff on agricultural products from the United States stands at 25.3 per cent, with some sensitive items, such as dairy and sugar, subject to duties as high as 100 per cent. The government also applies a 16 per cent value-added tax on most goods and services, including US exports. Beyond tariffs, the report faulted Kenya's Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) programme, which requires pre-shipment inspection of most imports. The programme, the USTR said, imposes "testing, certification, and labelling requirements [that] deviate from international standards without providing an additional measure of safety." The process is also costly. Kenya has designated only one inspection company, SGS, to perform PVoC inspections in the United States, limiting exporters' options and adding layers of expense. Shipments that arrive without a certificate of conformity face a five per cent penalty at the port. For US agricultural exporters, Kenya's sanitary and phytosanitary rules often act as a de facto ban. The country enforces an aflatoxin limit of 10 parts per billion for corn (maize), stricter than the international Codex standard, with no clear scientific justification. As a result, most US corn exports are denied import permits. Meat and dairy products face an even more stringent process. Before a shipment can enter, the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) must issue a "Letter of No Objection to Import Permit." The DVS, the report notes, often denies permits based on non-sanitary grounds, such as the local availability of similar products, and rarely provides a written justification. The process is also required for each shipment, adding uncertainty and cost. The Trump administration also flagged Kenya as a key node or hub in the global illegal wildlife trade, describing the country as a "major source, destination, and transit hub of wildlife trafficking products and their derivatives." Species such as elephants, rhinos, ostriches and giraffes are under threat, the report said, and "sophisticated criminal networks, corruption and under-resourced provincial authorities" have hampered enforcement. "Illegal wildlife trade undercuts legitimate, regulated trade in wildlife products," the USTR said, citing US industries such as pet, fashion and medical research that comply with strict regulations and sustainable practices. In the digital economy, the report criticised Kenya's 2019 Data Protection Act for imposing "unclear provisions governing the cross-border transfer of personal information." It noted that the law requires either consent from data subjects or proof that data will be secure as a condition for transferring data outside Kenya, but fails to define what constitutes acceptable proof. The result, the USTR said, is uncertainty and potential barriers to digital trade. The NTE report serves as an official inventory of foreign trade barriers and is often used by USTR as a negotiating lever. The Biden administration had previously engaged Kenya on trade and investment, but the Trump administration's return to the White House in 2025 has sharpened the focus on bilateral imbalances. Over 300 US companies operate in Kenya. However, big-ticket infrastructure projects have been dominated by Chinese firms. An attempt by a US-based company to build a mega road from Nairobi to Mombasa has yet to be successful. The Treasury rejected the proposal for the Sh468 billion ($3.6 billion) "Usahihi" Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway project, citing failure to meet technical and legal requirements under the PPP Act.

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