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EAC

East African Community


Kenya: Civil society raises concerns over EAC-EU trade deal
Kenya Human Rights Commission and others demand extension of September 30 deadline to sign the pending trade deal between the East African Community and EU on the grounds that failure to reach agreement will hurt half a million horticultural workers, mostly women.
US-EAC trade pact: Players fear East Africa could get raw deal
With the East African Community under pressure to sign the Economic Partnership agreement with Europe, pressure is emerging from elsewhere: the US. Civil society warn of the dangers.
Kenya flowers at crossroads over EPAs trade talks
A senior Kenyan Government officer who wished not to be named confirmed that Tanzania has been dragging its feet in embracing the new EU trade deal. “This might prompt Kenya to sign the agreement alone," he said.
East Africans seeking to unlock trade talks with European Union
East African countries are scheduled to hold a meeting in September to resolve outstanding issues in order to conclude negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs) with EU.
How the EAC locked horns with the EU over the EPA negotiations
Godfrey Ssali from the Uganda Manufacturers Association explains what is behind the current deadlock between the East African Community and the European Union on the negotiations underway to agree a set of Economic Partnership Agreements
Africa’s "grand" FTA negotiation progressing well: SADC officials
Negotiations to set up a grand free trade zone encompassing 26 countries in eastern and southern Africa are progressing well and may be completed in 2015, a year before schedule, SADC officials reveal.
Experts attack EU trade deal deadline
At a high level conference on the EAC-EU EPA negotiations in Entebbe recently, experts in trade and regional integration argued that the EAC should not be bound by the pressure of the EU deadline.
Kenya to conclude economic partnership pact with EU
Three remaining contentious issues will be dealt with by next month, according to the Kenyan government, which will be good news for horticulture farmers who have been worried that their market access will be compromised if Kenya loses its privileges in the EU market.
Negotiations on the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement are moving forward
African high-level officials indicated recently that negotiations for the establishment of a free-trade area spanning three major regional economic communities in Africa have progressed well and could conclude by the end of this year.
Tripartite FTA: Answer to poor intra-African trade
African countries need to look at the possibility of fast-tracking the tripartite Free Trade Area if hopes of an improved intra-African trade are to be met anytime soon, according to the African Union Commission
Uganda: EU sets EPA deadline signing for October
“The EAC states wont access European markets if we don’t sign EPA by October 1 but how prepared are we when some clauses are still not agreed upon?” Jane Nalunga, SEATINI Uganda country director, asks.
Is EAC at gunpoint over EU trade agreement?
There’s a strong feeling among experts in East Africa that by insisting on the inclusion of the "most favoured nation", the EU is holding the region at gunpoint to accept a clause that would legally tie their hands regarding who to trade with besides Europe.
EAC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations held in Brussels
Ministers from East Africa Community Partner States and the European Commissioner for Trade met in Brussels on 30th January 2014 to conclude three days of negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreement.
Zuma says Eastern, Southern Africa moving toward Free Trade Area
Twenty-six eastern and southern African nations are making progress toward agreeing on a free trade area that will create a market with nearly 600 million people and combined gross domestic product of $1 trillion, South African President Jacob Zuma said.
Tripartite FTA soon a reality
Three regional economic communities in Africa — COMESA, EAC and SADC — are expected to sign an agreement this year to establish an enlarged market covering 26 countries in eastern and southern Africa.
EAC for diplomatic engagement with EU
The East African Community ministers responsible for EPA negotiations with the EU have agreed to use diplomacy to resolve the outstanding issues, as the clock ticks towards the 2016 deadline.
Slow progress in Africa free trade talks
Negotiations between three trade blocs in Africa to create a free trade area were running behind schedule in terms of reaching their 2014 deadline but were nevertheless progressing, South Africa Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said last week.
Kenya mulls a breakaway: As EU trade beckons, East African Community urges restraint
Tentative plans to sign an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union could bolster some of Kenya’s vital sectors, but could also distance Kenya from its neighbors in the East African Community, or EAC.
EU wants Kenya to lead
European Commissioner for Trade, Karel de Gucht, was last week in Nairobi to drum up momentum for Kenya to quickly lead in signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
Call to speed up African Tripartite FTA negotiations
The Government of Zambia has called on the three African regional economic communities (RECs) — the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) — to speed up their free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.