ISDS Case Map
EAC
East African Community (EAC) member states have secured an open-ended time frame to access the trade agreement signed between Kenya and the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom (UK) parliament has warned that the British government's new bilateral trade agreement with Kenya could undermine the East Africa Community (EAC) regional integration initiative.
Private sector lobbies in Africa’s six regional trading blocs have formed the African Business Council, a continental umbrella body to spearhead the business agenda for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Ministers from the tripartite group of regional economic communities in eastern and southern Africa have set June 2021 as the deadline to achieve the threshold of 14 ratifications required to enable the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) enter into force.
Zambia has become the latest country to ratify the Tripartite Free Trade Area, bringing the number of countries that have ratified the agreement and deposited the instruments to nine. The agreement, being pursued by COMESA, the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), needs a total of 14 countries to enter into force.
The trade deal will enable Kenyan exporters of flowers and other fresh vegetables will continue accessing the UK market under a duty free, quota-free arrangement, just the way they did when the UK was in the European Union.
EAC’s tariff offer now brings the number of countries to 40 that are ready to join the AfCFTA on January 1, when trading under the agreement starts.
As the end of the UK-EU transition period looms, the future trading relationship between the UK and Africa remains uncertain.
The East African Community is optimistic that the US President elect Joe Biden will revive the negotiations and implementations of the EAC-US Trade and Investment Partnership.
UK-Kenya trade must be fit for the 21st century, say campaign groups.
