EAC delay to sign pact may prove costly - envoy

The EU head of delegation to Uganda, Ambassador Kristian Schmidt

What you need to know:

  • So far, Kenya and Rwanda have already signed the agreement.
  • Uganda has also expressed strong interest to sign while Tanzania and Burundi are still skeptical.

Kampala- The East African Community (EAC) member countries’ decision to extend the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union may have consequences in the due course, the EU has said.

The EU head of delegation to Uganda, Ambassador Kristian Schmidt, in a statement issued to this newspaper last week, said: “There are no immediate effects but there may be consequences in due course that only the EPA can prevent.”

EAC heads of State during their 17th Summit that sat in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania recently agreed to push the signing of the EPAs with the EU for another three-months (January 2017) until a harmonised regional position has been arrived at.

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli, the chairman of the EAC summit, said they need more time to discuss the EPA agreement.

So far, Kenya and Rwanda have already signed the agreement. Uganda has also expressed strong interest to sign while Tanzania and Burundi are still skeptical.

But the EAC heads of State during the negotiations expressed a willingness to move ahead as a region.
Mr Schmidt said the EU understands that the EAC partners need some time to continue their internal process.

“This is why we pursue a situation in which the EAC EPA is implemented by all EAC countries as a bloc, in order to provide a predictable and uniform trade scheme for all EAC members that respects their customs union and preserves duty-free quota-free access to the EU market for all of them, regardless of their income status, in the long term,” he said.

Unilaterally, the EU already offers full free access to its market to Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi because of their low income status and does so to another 44 countries in the world. This is aimed at improving the incomes of the Low Developed Countries.

Kenya already has higher income levels compared to the lowest average worldwide.

“Pending entry into force of the EPA, Kenya can still benefit from unilateral preferences that the EU offers but stands to lose free access for some of its main export products if there is no EPA,” Mr Schmidt said.

He said for all the EAC countries to benefit from full free access to the EU in the long term regardless of their income, the EPA concluded between the EU and the EAC must enter into force.

He added: “For this to happen, all five EAC countries shall sign, ratify and implement the agreement.”

Mr Schmidt welcomed South Sudan a new member of the EAC but urged the other members to help it find peace and security, and start improving the living standards of its population.

-Exports to the EU from East African Community are dominated by coffee, cut flowers, tea, tobacco, fish and vegetables.

-Imports from the EU into the region are dominated by machinery and mechanical appliances, equipment and parts, vehicles and pharmaceutical products.

On south Sudan joining

Concerning South Sudan’s joining the rest of the member states into the EAC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, Mr Schmidt said: “There are provisions envisaging the accession to the agreement of new members to both the EAC and the EU.

However, these provisions can only be used once the agreement is signed, ratified and applied. This is currently the top priority.”

“South Sudan should firstly apply EAC customs union and common market rules. I think a transitional period is envisaged to this end. But I wish to repeat: the top priority at the moment is that all parties to the agreement quickly complete the adoption process of the EPA.”