Why Kenya must keep an eye on data rules in US trade deal talks

Alec Ross, the author of Industries of the Future, opined in 2017 as the world embraces digital trade in goods and services, data remains its key raw material.

Over the past few weeks, there have been a number of commentaries on the ongoing Kenya-United States negotiations of a bilateral trade agreement following a meeting between presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and Donald Trump in February. In a 19-page “Summary of Specific Negotiating Objectives” by the Office of the United States Trade Representative Executive Office of the President, a number of issues were highlighted and have elicited debate, among them, cross-border data flows.