Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda join to retaliate against Kenya over UK trade deal
Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda seek joint trade partnership with the UK after Kenya left them out of the deal
Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda seek joint trade partnership with the UK after Kenya left them out of the deal.
After Kenya excluded the EAC from trade negotiations with Britain, other East African Community (EAC) nations like Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania responded by attempting to negotiate their own agreement.
Brexit caused the United Kingdom to leave the European Union in 2019, and as a result, it began looking for new trade agreements outside of the EU.
Kenya has taken advantage of this and begun talks with the UK over a new trade agreement that excludes other EAC nations.
This has caused tension in the community as the countries trade under common tariffs.
This was the same deal they had with the UK before it disengaged from the EU economic bloc.
Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, the other members of the bloc, arranged a pan-EAC meeting to discuss the negotiations with Britain in retaliation to Kenya’s trade discussions with Britain.
Unlike Kenya which needs a unique trade deal with the UK, the three countries want the bloc in its entirety to agree to a new trade deal with the UK, not just Kenya.
According to reports, the UK appears to prioritize a trade agreement with Kenya before attempting to secure a trade agreement with the rest of the EAC based on the pre-existing EAC-EU trade agreement, which was in place before Brexit.
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President William Ruto has been calling out for the removal of trade tariffs between EAC countries and the African continent at large.
The negotiations with the UK run counter to that since, should the trade agreement be approved, Kenya would no longer be able to export products to the UK within the EAC bloc.
On the other hand, President William Ruto is pushing quickly to guarantee that a trade agreement between the UK and Kenya is in place before the current one expires in December 2023.
Kenyan goods will be subject to import duties by the UK if the agreement is not completed within the next three months, which will harm the economy.
The United Kingdom is the fourth largest consumer of Kenyan goods after Uganda, the Netherlands, the US, and Pakistan.
Kenya’s tension with EAC member states comes a week after the Ugandan government complained over unfair trade policies being implemented by Ruto’s administration.
In particular, they pointed out the administration’s decision to cancel an existing trade deal on the importation of powder milk which caused economic losses to Uganda.
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