Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1558372,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1558372/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 193,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. Sen. Cherarkey has brought to this House a very important statement, one that may have escaped the attention of lawmakers in Kenya. This statement is directed to the Standing Committee of Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism, addressing a matter of national concern regarding the impact of the 10 per cent tariff imposed on Kenyan exports by the USA. This tariff is set to affect key sectors such as tea, coffee, horticulture, textiles and other sectors that significantly contribute to Kenyan exports. I do not understand why this issue has not been raised as a substantive Motion in this House. In fact, I urge Sen. Cherarkey to bring this forward as a matter of national importance and propose a Motion for the House to deliberate on. If possible, resolutions should be made. This Statement critically highlights flaws in our foreign policy approach. Simply put the USA has imposed taxes on our commodities. This will increasingly impact local producers. As I speak, these producers are already grappling with violence, economic disruption and business instability. Last year, the Generation Z movement was fuelled by high taxation in Kenya. The tax burden on our people is already overwhelming. Adding tariffs on these sectors, especially in an economy heavily reliant on agricultural products, will only exacerbate the situation. Consider tea, coffee, horticulture and textiles, all of which are vital agricultural products. Textiles, in particular, are struggling to renew and regenerate our ginneries. It is impossible to sustain normal production under these circumstances as such tariffs inevitably lead to higher production costs. Time and again, we have seen that when tariffs are imposed on goods like these, the producers are forced to pass the costs onto consumers. What does that mean? It means that Kenyans who are already extremely taxed will also face serious consumer prices rising on basic goods and services that these companies provide."
}