ISDS Case Map
Kenya
Three remaining contentious issues will be dealt with by next month, according to the Kenyan government, which will be good news for horticulture farmers who have been worried that their market access will be compromised if Kenya loses its privileges in the EU market.
A technical team from the Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism last week held a meeting with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Secretariat over the progress of the local sugar industry.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi has asked the government to seek an extension of the Comesa safeguards to protect the local sugar industry from excessive imports from the Comesa region.
If the Economic Partnership Agreement is not signed by October 2014, the Generalised System of Preference rule will apply to Kenya, which will entail a tariff hike for most Kenyan exports to the EU.
Kenya's sugar sector is in limbo as the COMESA safeguard period nears its end. COMESA is the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Tentative plans to sign an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union could bolster some of Kenya's vital sectors, but could also distance Kenya from its neighbors in the East African Community, or EAC.
European Commissioner for Trade, Karel de Gucht, was last week in Nairobi to drum up momentum for Kenya to quickly lead in signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
Members of the National Assembly last week opposed a push to have Kenya sign a trade treaty with Europe until outstanding issues had been resolved.
Kenya has moved to allay fears over reports in international media that it is among seven African countries blacklisted by the European Union for failing to sign Economic Partnership Agreements.
An existing trade pact between South Africa and the European Union is presenting a fresh hurdle in negotiations for economic partnership with Kenya.
