The study aims to assess Kenya’s trade competitiveness under existing trade agreements and the effect of proposed new trade agreements on competitiveness of Kenyan products.
Trade agreements promote regional integration; reduce the cost of trade between countries; and support countries’ efforts to grow their economies faster, become innovative, improve productivity, and provide higher incomes and more opportunities for their people. Trade liberalization also benefits consumers as it results provision of high-quality goods and services at a low cost.
Trade agreements are meant to enhance market access for developing countries, thus promoting their trade competitiveness. Trade competitiveness is an important factor in analyzing trade agreement performance because it indicates the country’s ability to increase its market share in global markets. Trade competitiveness is also a policy concern because it encourages a country to develop policies that aid in addressing a variety of market and government failures that commonly constrain countries seeking to expand their export market.
This study will make use of secondary data obtained from various sources that include the World Trade Organisation (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, International Trade Centre, and United Nation Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS), among others.
