The East African Community is set to finally sign the new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union this month as a bloc after Tanzania agreed to change its stance on the matter.
The agreement was negotiated and agreed on in 2014 with the whole region, the East African Community even so, it could not be implemented as Tanzania decided not to sign it as they were concerned that cheap goods from European countries will flood their markets, affecting the locally-produced ones, especially in the agricultural sector.
However, Josep Borrell, the EU Foreign Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, said Tanzania has agreed to join the rest of the EAC countries in ratifying the deal that will see the region enjoy quota-free and duty-free access to the lucrative European market.
“President Uhuru Kenyatta told me that, finally, it seems that we could have an agreement for the whole region because the new government in Tanzania is accepting to sign the agreement,” said Mr Borrell.
Previously, it has been a requirement that the EPA agreement is endorsed by all EAC member states for it to become effective.
Nairobi and Kigali were the only two countries in the region to sign an EPA deal with Europe in 2016 in a special arrangement under a temporary pact with the EU to allow its goods to access the expansive market duty-free.
The signing of the EPA deal was delayed initially because some states wanted a provision for special export taxes in order to protect certain sectors they consider sensitive and to discourage the exportation of raw material to Europe.
However, following the hesitation to sign the pact by some EAC members, Kenyan goods stood to attract higher taxes, forcing it to seek a temporary arrangement with the EU to save the local farmers.
Mr Borrell also indicated that through the current format of EU-Kenya relations, the EU was considering Kenya as a strategic partner, which means building stronger links in the fields of security, economic development and sustainability.
