ISDS Case Map
EAC
Kenya is considering breaking ranks with its East Africa partners and sign a framework on new economic trade pacts with Europe, citing its disadvantaged position should it fail to do so.
The European Union has accused East Africa Community partner states of flouting World Trade Organisation rules by refusing to sign a framework Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU.
The signing of a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement has been necessitated by the absence of a formal platform where the EAC can engage the US
Visiting Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has proposed a free trade agreement between Singapore and a group of African nations, the city-state's foreign ministry said Monday.
The European Union says that the private sector through East African Business Council, should be participating in economic partnership agreement negotiations. "Maybe in future we will have to treat the private sector and activists through two different windows," EU officials specify.
The European Union has for the first time indicated that the failure by the East African Community to sign a new trade agreement will lead to introduction of taxes on Kenyan exports to Europe.
Representatives of East Africa Community governments and the private sector hope to use a two-day meeting that starts in Arusha on Friday to break the deadlock with the European Commission over Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations.
Three regional trading blocs — the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa), East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) — plan to launch a Free Trade Area by 2012.
The pace at which the EAC has concluded discussions on critical stages of integration process has raised eye-brows even in Africa where similar projects have barely moved beyond free trade area agreements.
Leaders of the five-member East African Community bloc on Friday signed a common market treaty to allow free trade, movement and right of residence, the first of its kind on the continent.
