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East African countries warned against signing EU trade deal

East African countries have been asked to reject the impending trade deal with the European Union. Kenya and the four other nations of the EAC are required to ratify the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) before the end of the month, gradually granting unlimited market access for exports from the EU.

Dangerous
“We must critically analyse what this agreement means for the EAC, it is dangerous for our trade,” said Nathan Irumba, the executive director of the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (Seatini).

He was speaking at the close of a trade conference seeking to examine the impact of the EPA on the East African countries. EAC has been negotiating with the EU as a trading bloc. Failure to sign up would mean steep taxes on commodities such as flowers produced in Kenya, which is classified as a lower-middle-income economy.

Kenyan flower exports were heavily impacted when the EU slapped heavy taxes of up to 12 per cent some two years ago after the lapse of the preceding agreement, forcing President Uhuru Kenyatta to sign the agreement.

Read more at Standard Digital News
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