The textile and apparel sector, in particular, thrived under the agreement, with exports to the United States growing from approximately $50 million at the outset to around $500 million today.
“Clearly, if AGOA goes away, we have zero chance to compete with the Asian countries. There is no way we can survive.
“As a businessman, it is not going to be a survival for us. The whole house of cards will collapse very quickly,” said Pankaj Bedi, CEO of United Aryan clothing factory in Kenya.
Women at risk of mass lay-off in Kenya
Kenya’s textile and apparel sector, employing more than 66,000 people, many of them women, now faces its greatest crisis in decades. In Nairobi’s garment districts, workers are already fearful of what the future holds.
“For all those years, this has been my bread and butter. I only depend on this job. So if it is gone, it means my life is gone too,” lamented machinist Julia Shigadi.
President Ruto’s appeal to White House
Raphael Obonyo, a public policy expert at UN-Habitat, warned that the impact could spread beyond the textile sector.
“In the short run, it looks manageable, but in the long run, the challenges are going to be devastating and they are going to spill over,” he cautioned.
As Africa grapples with the loss of a trade framework that many saw as a lifeline, governments and businesses are left to navigate an uncertain future in global commerce.
