Nairobi, Jan. 13 -- Pressure from China and Russia prompted the US to extend the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) programme, which provides preferential access to a key market for goods from Kenya and other select African nations, a top official has revealed.

The US House of Representatives voted on Monday to extend Agoa for three years, bringing relief to Kenyan exporters to the US who had been primed to be hit by tariffs of as much as 42 percent from 2026, and to thousands of jobs at firms operating in export processing zones (EPZs) that were at risk.

Mr Jason Smith, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means in the US House of Representatives, revealed that fears of inroads by China and Russia into Africa influenced th...