NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Workers and industry are bracing for the end of a longstanding U.S. trade agreement that gave African exporters preferential treatment and now leaves businesses vulnerable to new competitive pressures and tariffs.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) will terminate as scheduled on Tuesday amid uncertainty over renegotiations and the looming impact of new tariffs announced by the White House in April.

AGOA is a multilateral trade agreement that has given thousands of products from qualifying African nations duty-free access to U.S. markets since 2000.

A key example of the deal's impact can be found in Kenya, where it has allowed the country’s textile and apparel sector — makers of jeans, for instance — to effectively compete with Asian exporters such as in

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