Nairobi, April 3 -- US traders have raised concerns over Kenya's quality and safety checks on imported products, claiming the certification falls short of global best practices, and is not entirely above board.

The Office of United States Trade Representative (USTR) Washington says in a review that the requirements Kenya applies in inspecting and certifying imports into the country "deviate from international standards", suggesting that the process presents a technical trade barrier.

The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) requires mandatory checks of most goods at the country of origin under the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) programme.

Inspections are conducted by Kebs agents in source markets to ensure the goods comply wi...