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MPs set stage for enforcement of UK trade after ratifying it
Wednesday March 10 2021
By JOHN MUTUA
Parliament on Tuesday evening ratified the Kenya-United Kingdom trade deal, setting the stage for free access of local products to the European nation.
Approval of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) will see the 10 per cent duty Kenya charges on intermediate goods start reducing after seven years, resulting in its abolishment eight years later.
The country will, on the other hand, start phasing down the duty on finished products (currently billed from 25 per cent) after 12 years, leading to its elimination 13 years later.
MPs had initially delayed debate on the trade deal and sought more details, with a section protesting a clause that bars them from amending or expressing reservations on the pact, although protocols for such deals do not give parliaments powers to introduce changes to trade deals at the ratification stage.
Kenyan parliament ratifies UK-Kenya trade deal
On Tuesday night, Kenyan MPs ratified the Kenya-United Kingdom trade agreement, setting the stage for duty-free access to their markets. Mandera South MP and Trade Committee chairman Adan Haji moved to allay fears that the Kenya-UK Economic Partnership Agreement will open the floodgates for the ‘dumping of agricultural goods.’ The MP emphasized that the object of the agreement is aligned to Kenya’s food security agenda.
Kenyan vegetable exports command a 43 per cent share of the UK market, cut flowers do the same at 9 per cent.
“The export potential in the UK for Kenya products was valued at about Sh20 trillion in 2019. If Kenya were to target this potential will raise the market share in the UK by five per cent. It will translate to exports worth Sh1 trillion, an ambition that Kenya is pursuing,” Adan said.
THE STANDARD
Members of the National Assembly yesterday voted for the reversal of Covid-19 tax reliefs in an attempt to fill empty government coffers.
But given the dire economic situation, it is not only the government that is desperate to recover from the havoc wrought onto an already strained economy when Covid-19 struck in March.
Business and households have been hit hard by the pandemic, dimming any hope for a meaningful revenue to be realised in the latest reversal.
The country is caught up in the grip of a health crisis with doctors, nurses and clinicians downing their tools over a myriad grievances, including the push for better pay and provision of personal protective equipment (PPE).