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{
    "id": 80219,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/80219/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 23,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Mwau",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Trade",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 105,
        "legal_name": "John Harun Mwau",
        "slug": "harun-mwau"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) The Government has been engaged in EPA with the European Union. The negotiation started at the regional level in 2004. Kenya, along with other African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) countries that have been trading with the European Union (EU), under the preferential trade arrangement that entails duty free access to the EU market covered about 97 per cent of the total tariff lines. This trade arrangement was defined in the Cotonou Partnership Agreement signed in June, 2000 and expired at the end of December, 2007. According to the provisions of Cotonou Trade Agreement, this trade regime was to be replaced by negotiated World Trade Organization (WTO) compatible trade arrangement with effect from 1st January, 2008. The WTO compatible trade arrangement is the EPA. Kenya, along with East African Community (EAC) partner States have been negotiating with the EU on behalf of the EPA, both negotiating parties initiating economic partnership agreement framework with the FEBA in Kampala in November, 2007. In the FEBA, both parties agreed to continue negotiating all outstanding issues in the FEBA Article No.37, and to complete negotiations on these issues on 31st July, 2009. This deadline was not met as both parties were unable to conclude the negotiations. The EAC partner States and the EU have continued these negotiations at technical levels namely senior official level and Ministerial level. All these levels of negotiations have not been finalized due to outstanding issue in the FEBA; that is export duty in Article 15; most favored nation treatment, Article 16; and the outstanding issues listed in Article 37 of the FEBA. In the last joint negotiating meeting at the Ministerial level held in Dar es salaam on 9th June, 2010, both parties reviewed the progress of the negotiations and noted that the progress had been made in the EPA and before the end of 2007, this should be completed. Kenya, as a developing country, would access the EU market under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) if it does not negotiate the EPA at duty ranging between 5.3 per cent and 15.7 per cent. Other EAC partner States, as they are Least Developed Countries (LDC), will continue to access the EU market at zero per cent as they would move to everything, but arms arrangement. This means that the countries’ export to the EU will become uncompetitive. The EPA will sustain employment and investment already in place in horticultural, fisheries and related industries whose growth has been propelled over the years by the preferential market access in the EU. There is no potential negative implication on the agricultural sector. This is because the market access offers Kenya and other EAC partner States access to the EU under the EPA negotiations. This was initialed on 27th November, 2007 in Kampala. It ensured that all agricultural products were excluded from the EPA negotiations. This comprehensive exclusion---"
}