Africa’s Fashion Factories Pay for US Trade Limbo Over AGOA

“We are all living with uncertainty,” says Joanna Maiden, chief executive at garment manufacturer Soko Kenya, with palpable unease. Last year’s US tariff turmoil threatened the livelihoods of 66,000 workers in Kenya, predominantly women supporting hundreds of thousands of dependents, including those at her factory. The September expiry of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) then made Kenyan exports even more expensive for US buyers.

Supplying brands such as Asos and Alemais…