Africa Trade Deepens
South Africa and Kenya Ink Six Trade MoUs to Boost Commerce, End Tariff Disputes
South Africa and Kenya signed six memoranda of understanding in Pretoria during President William Ruto’s state visit, covering cooperation in standardisation, maritime transport, skills development, gender equality, arts and culture, and sport. The pacts—especially those on technical regulations, conformity assessment, and shipping links—are intended to reduce trade frictions and improve logistics across East and Southern Africa in support of AfCFTA implementation. South Africa’s reopening of its market to Kenyan tea, coffee, and spices was also framed as a shift away from earlier tariff-related disputes that had restricted key exports. At a South Africa-Kenya business forum, officials and executives said political commitments to industrialisation and continental integration are not enough, pointing instead to persistent border, customs, and regulatory hurdles that slow cross-border commerce. Business leaders urged that the next phase of integration focus on dismantling practical obstacles so firms can take full advantage of a more unified African market. The two governments described the package as part of a broader deepening of bilateral ties that has produced a growing number of agreements beyond the current set.
Key Points
South Africa’s market reopening was framed as an end to a specific tariff dispute: Ramaphosa said Nairobi had imposed duties on South African steel, which in turn led to restrictions on Kenyan tea and coffee—“We said, let’s stop this nonsense.”
Ramaphosa argued that tariff “punishment” between countries should not undercut broader African economic cooperation, saying: “Let’s bring down the deficit between us. We should not behave like some big countries in the world that punish other countries because of disparities in tariffs.”
Beyond the six MoUs, the new accords bring the total number of bilateral agreements between South Africa and Kenya to 34.
At the South Africa–Kenya Business Forum, speakers put a concrete figure on the scale of cross-border trade: bilateral trade was reported at $680 million in 2025, while businesses argued agreements were advancing “faster on paper than they are at border posts, customs offices and regulatory agencies.”
The sports MoU is linked to Kenya’s role in regional football planning: it is signed as Kenya “prepares to co‑host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations,” with provisions for athlete development and sports-administration collaboration.
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