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"id": 695374,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/695374/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Hon. Langat",
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"speaker": {
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"legal_name": "Benjamin Kipkirui Langat",
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"content": "lose as from 1st October, 2016. That was the deadline that was given to rally the other East African Community countries to ratify the process. How will we lose? Maybe, that is the question which Members are asking. Kenya, as I have said, was given up to 30th September, 2016. After 1st October 2016, all exports to the EU market, and they are major--- About 22 per cent of our export business are to the EU. From 1st October 2016, if we do not show willingness and goodwill to ratify the treaty, all our exports to the EU which stand at 22 per cent will be levied duties in the EU market ranging from 5 per cent to 22 per cent. The effect is that it will reduce competitiveness of our products in the EU market. We export flowers, coffee and tea to the EU market. If EU were to levy 25 per cent duty, then our products will lose market because they will not be competitive. The effect of that is that 4 million Kenyans who are working on flower farms, tea industries and coffee farms are likely to lose their employment. Secondly, the investments which have been made in those sectors, which is approximated by our Ministry to be worth slightly over Kshs200 billion, is likely to be lost. So, this is a very serious matter. In order for us to continue securing the EU, I request the House to approve and ratify this treaty so that we can save our trade with the EU and the East African Community. That is the danger we find ourselves in. The other thing, having informed the House of the consequences, is about the stakes or the issues. I know many people have been hearing outside there that our industries and agriculture may collapse. I want to thank the Kenyan negotiators. The approach they took is that they first did a research on the issues that needed to be addressed. Sometime back, the Government of Kenya commissioned the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) to do a research on EPA, so that they can set the agenda to protect the Kenyan economy. Out of that, I would want to mention a few issues. One, in the agreement, there is a clause that talks about exclusion list which means that there will be no imports from EU markets to Kenya under any circumstances. The areas that have been covered under exclusion are for agriculture purposes. Agriculture is very key to this economy. It is the backbone of our economy. This agreement says that there shall be no direct imports of agricultural raw materials from any EU country, be it beef products, raw milk products and others. So, our farmers are actually protected against cheap imports of subsidized agricultural products. For our industries, safeguards have been made so that our small processing companies are protected. Two, what we are offering - and which Kenya has agreed to - is what is called the intermediate goods. Intermediate goods which, for example, can be imported to Kenya so that assembly plants can be set up in Kenya or additional manufacturing can be done in Kenya. This is not new. We have always been passing what we call the exemptions under VAT for assembly plants for motor vehicles so that they are imported cheaply and can be assembled in Kenya and, therefore, create employment. That is what Kenya has agreed to. It is very good because we are trying to industrialise. I want to inform the House that even if we ratify the agreement today, there is a seven-year grace period for monitoring and checking before it takes effect. There is another thing which has been secured. Looking at this agreement today, there are more than 1,000 items which Kenya has been allowed to export to the European Union (EU) markets duty-free and quota-free. That means that businessmen in our country have the opportunity to manufacture because, through this agreement, the market for an additional 1,000 tariff items has been secured. This means several other products can be sold in the EU market. Employment opportunities and our economic activities will increase because there is a new market in the EU. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}