EPAs: Kenya told not to 'sell Africa'

By Henry Neondo

Kenya is to lead other East African Community negotiators tobreak ranks with other developing countries by agreeing to an unfavourabletrade deal with the European Union (EU).
The EAC and EU are meeting this week in Madagascar to negotiate an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

In reaction to the ongoing deals, members of the Kenyan civil society and faith-basedorganizationsIn present sent out a passionate plea to the EAC not to sell out to Europe by being thefirst to agree to a deal that would be detrimental to Kenya's economy andhuman rights.

"Whilst the electioneering is going on in Kenya, a trade agreement with the EU could be quietly agreed that will do away with any trade policy controlthat Kenya and the EAC has in the form of control of tariffs to develop our economy", said Justus Lavi Mwololo, an official of the Kenya Small-scaleFarmers Forum.

"Tariffs are very important to developing economies, he said adding that countries like Korea, Taiwan, China, the US, and blocks like the EU all used to have and still use tariffs to develop and grow infant industries andprotect agriculture. It is nonsense for the EU to demand from Africa to dismantle our tariffs, and it is nonsense for our governments to agree to doso."

At the Madagascar meeting, the EAC is likely to agree to an EPA deal that could agree to liberalize up to 90% of all imported EU products intocountries like Kenya. "Once such an agreement is signed, it will open the floodgates for other detrimental free trade agreements, such as between theEAC and the USA and with other third party power houses like China," commented Mr. Lavi.

Analysis of the current text shows that tariffs for Kenya and the rest of the EAC would be fixed permanently from 1st January 2008. This would severely limit governments' right to raise tariffs in order to protect andrevive industries - without first informing the EU.

Furthermore these tariffs will then be systematically dismantled to zero over an as yet undecided time period. Loss of government revenues through tariffelimination would deter the Kenyan government's commitment to upholding social rights such as education, health and food-sovereignty.

This, the organizations say, is in complete contrast to the position southern countries have consistently taken at World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations at a global level.

"The reasoning behind the signing an EPA isseriously questionable, and we should certainly not be the first ones to agree to this" said John Ochola of the Kenyan organization EcoNews Africa.

"Other blocks in the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific region (ACP) are standing firm against the EU and trying to secure a transition period for the extension of preferences. For the EAC to agree to an EPA in Madagascar wouldbe tantamount to breaking ranks with ACP countries," adding that "for all countries in the EAC there are better options for trade with the EU - GSP+for Kenya and Everything But Arms for the rest; options that our governmenthasn't even asked for".