Jobs in the balance over deal’s uncertain future

In the EPZ, a clothing factory in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi, no inevitable tension.

The hard fixed for hard sewing machines, along with workers ’gossip, is usually filled with reassuring rhythm. But today every deformed voice of uncertainty because the company’s future is unclear because of the possible end of the US Main Trade Law.

The African Growth and Opportunities Law, the inclusion in the legislation, a rating trade agreement that gives for 25 years to reach African goods to the American market, on Tuesday.

However, this policy contradicts the Trump administration’s record to impose definitions.

Envoys from different African countries went to the United States to try to negotiate the extension.

A White House official told the BBC that the administration has supported a year’s extension of the program, but this has not been announced yet.

The angle of the economic relations of the United States of America, and the target of age was to help the industry on the continent, create job opportunities and raise dozens of countries of poverty.

It was based on the philosophy of replacing aid with trade.

Awaa has proven a great value for countries such as Kenya, Lezoto and the fate of thousands of workers, such as 29 -year -old Joan and Tamboy, with her future.

The end of the deal can be spent the end of its function.

Mrs. Wambui worked at Shona EPZ, which helped to sew sportswear exclusively to the American market, for only six months. At that short time, her salary has become the mainstay of her family. She supports her four -year -old daughter, two sisters in the college, with her mother.

She says that losing her job will affect more than just her life.

“If the authority is over, so where do we go?” Mrs. Wambui asks an anxious tone, her hands and feet move in time on the sewing machine as she imagines a pieces of fabric.

For her, the normal wage means more than income. This means dignity and ability to pay school fees, keep food on the table and enable them to look to a better future.

“It will hit me strongly,” she says.

The clothing industry has flourished in Kenya under the leadership.

In 2024 alone, the country exported $ 470 million (350 million pounds) clothes for the United States, and supported more than 66,000 direct jobs, and three quarters of them by women, according to the private sector alliance in Kenya, a collection of umbrella from private companies.

Factories such as Shona EPZ are important sources of employment, especially for young people who have struggled to find a stable work in a difficult economy.

“Most people here have been taken from the streets,” says Ms. Wamboy. “They were addicted to drugs. If its validity ends, they may return there, and here they are fixed.”

Shona EPZ does not require new employees to be skilled – the company is committed to training those who give a job.

The lack of clarity on the future was already an effect on the Shona EPZ product.

The factory usually produces nearly half a million clothes every month, but production has decreased this year to about a third, as buyers hinder long -term requests.

Kenya’s clothing sales this year were also exposed to a 10 % tariff presented by the Trump administration earlier this year. Renewal will not get rid of that, but it does not mean any additional tariff.

“If the extension is not granted, we may have to send people to the home and may be closed,” said the factory director, Isaac Maloki, told the BBC.

“If we cannot get enough work to keep people here, we will not have a choice.”

Over the past seven years, the Shona EPZ, which employ 700 people, has invested 10 million dollars in building the company.

“If the extension does not happen, we look at an investment of $ 10 million in immigration,” Mr. Malauki explains.

The uncertainty does not extend beyond Kenya.

Throughout Africa, more than 30 countries currently export more than 6000 products for the United States under the United States, from textiles to agricultural commodities.

The program was credited with creating job opportunities, promoting industries, and granting African economies a stronger foothold in world trade.

But given a future deal, African negotiators need to rethink their approach, according to Teniaola Tayo.

“African countries really need to know what they want from the United States and what you can offer, because you need to provide something in exchange for reaching the markets,” she says.

African leaders were pressing Washington extensively.

At the United Nations General Assembly last week, trade was high on the agenda.

Kenya Kenyangui’s Trade Minister Li Kenyangui revealed that Nairobi was pressing for at least a short extension.

“The ideal situation is an extension, so transitional mechanisms can be placed in place,” he said.

At the same time, Kenya is trying to conclude its bilateral deal with the United States.

Last week, President William Roto said he expected to sign a trade agreement with the United States at the end of the year, while Washington urges the extension of the arrival of the continent without fees under the leadership for at least five years.

South African President Cyril Ramavusa has warned the same that its passage would carry severe consequences for his country.

At the same time, Kenya and others are looking for new markets to reduce excessive dependence on the United States.

Trade expert Mrs. Tayo says this should include the benefit of the African Free Trade Zone.

“When Africans circulate with each other, they tend to produce high -value goods, and manufactured goods are more simply to export raw materials,” she says.

But all this takes time. For workers like Lady WAMBUI, the timelines for diplomacy and commercial negotiations are far from removing daily urgency in feeding the family.

It has only one request for Kenyan governments and the United States: giving young people more opportunities.

“We have ideas and engine to make a difference. We just need support to show our potential,” says, and her colleagues are heading outside the factory to spend the lunch break.