Kenya no longer faces possible loss of Agoa trade benefits, US officials announced on Tuesday. However, three other East African Community member states -- Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda -- must undergo an assessment of their Agoa eligibility status, Washington's top trade agency affirmed. The assessment could result in their ejection from the preferential trade programme. A review of Kenya's inclusion in the African Growth and Opportunity Act "is not warranted at this time," the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a notice published in a federal government gazette. It cited "recent actions Kenya has taken, including reversing tariff increases, effective July 1, 2017, and committing not to ban imports of used clothing through policy measures that are more trade-restrictive than necessary to protect human health." The US trade office added that it "will continue to monitor Kenya's actions to ensure that Kenya follows through on its commitments." The US decision to spare Kenya from a process that would have jeopardised the country's 66,000 Agoa-related jobs "is, no doubt, a victory for Kenya's trade diplomacy," said Abdirizak Musa, an official in Nairobi's embassy in Washington. Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda still risk loss of their Agoa benefits due to their ongoing commitment to a March 2016 EAC decision to phase in a ban on imports of used clothing and footwear from the US. The EAC countries, including Kenya, were named in a petition filed three months ago by a US-based recycled textiles association alleging that the joint move to bar...

Tanzania has signed a $154 million port expansion contract with a Chinese firm as part of plans to transform it into the region’s transport and trade hub. State-run China Harbour Engineering Company will expand the main port in Dar es Salaam, repositioning it as a serious competitor to Kenya’s Mombasa port. The latter has also undergone a major upgrade in the past three years to improve efficiency and give it a competitive edge. In his 2017/18 budget proposal read last week, Tanzania Finance Minister Philip Mpango scrapped value added tax on transit goods from its main ports. The move is intended to win back importers from landlocked countries who saw this as an additional cost to their business. Under the port upgrade contract, which is funded by a World Bank loan, Tanzania is planning to build a roll on/roll off (ro-ro) terminal and to deepen seven existing berths in order to accommodate larger container ships. The project will be divided into two phases. Phase one will involve the construction of a new pier to offload ro-ro vessels and the consolidation and upgrading of berths one to seven. Phase two will involve deepening the berths from the current eight metres to 15 metres. The ro-ro terminal will allow the docking of large tonnage ships carrying vehicles, which can be driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle. Minister of Works, Transport and Communication Makame Mbarawa said that the deepening and strengthening of the berths...

The Dock Workers’ Union is pushing the government to build the Mariakani Dry Port in Mombasa, hoping it will end the bitter feud pitting President Uhuru Kenyatta against Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho. The proposal, seen as a game changer, comes against a backdrop of stiff opposition facing the proposed Naivasha dry port. The government promised it will set up another dry port in Voi. If the deal, being pushed by DWU secretary general Simon Sang sails through, 6,000 jobs will be created. The project will also boost the Mombasa economy. Sang said with the increase of cargo docking at the Kenya Ports Authority, consignments will not take more than 24 hours at the port. “Mariakani will act as an extension of the port storage,” he said on Tuesday, during an interview at the Star offices, Mombasa. Sang said the facility will be an export consolidation facility, a pier-to-pier container breaking point, Customs warehouse storage centre, and sorting area into transit. “When this is done, then the Port of Mombasa will be utilised mostly for ship operation and transshipment storage as well as for storage of empty containers for repatriation,” he said. High-level meetings with Uhuru and Deputy President William Ruto have been scheduled to push the deal through. Sang has Ruto’s ear. He successfully pushed for the review of the scheme of service at the KPA through Ruto. The secretary general said with more than 100 companies having expressed interest in taking part in a planned special economic zone in...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Trade Representative said on Tuesday it was reviewing trade benefits to Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) after a complaint by U.S. interests about an East African ban on imports of used clothing. USTR said the "out-of-cycle" review was in response to a petition filed by the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART), which complained that the ban "imposed significant hardship" on the U.S. used-clothing industry and violated AGOA rules. "Through the out-of-cycle review, USTR and trade-related agencies will assess the allegations contained within the SMART petition and review whether Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda are adhering to AGOA's eligibility requirements," USTR said in a statement. The move follows a decision by the six-nation East African Community - Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and South Sudan - to fully ban imported second-hand clothes and shoes by 2019, arguing it would help member countries boost domestic clothes manufacturing. The USTR did not elaborate on why the three countries were singled out for review. The AGOA trade program provides eligible sub-Saharan countries duty-free access to the United States on condition they meet certain statutory eligibility requirements, including eliminating barriers to U.S. trade and investment, among others. U.S. AGOA imports from Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda totaled $43 million in 2016, up from $33 million in 2015, according to the USTR. U.S. exports to Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda were $281 million in 2016, up from $257 million the year before, it said. Source:...

NAIROBI, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is currently reviewing all its bilateral trade agreements it has signed with other countries with a view to enhancing exports, officials said on Tuesday. Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Chris Kiptoo told Xinhua in Nairobi that the review follows the approval of the National Trade Policy by the Cabinet early this month. "We hope to complete the review of bilateral trade agreements by the end of the year," Kiptoo said on the sidelines of a consultative meeting between Kenya and Commercial Attaches representing foreign countries in Kenya. The East Africa nation has so far signed over 35 trade agreement with other nations. "The objective of the exercise is for Kenya to reap maximum benefit from agreements that it has signed," Kiptoo said. The review will help Kenya to identify those agreements which we can fully implement and those that that have difficulties in implementation. The government official noted that Kenya's exports have grown slightly or stagnated over the past decade while imports have more than doubled. The PS said that despite Kenya signing a lot of bilateral agreements, Kenya's exports are not growing as expected. "Unfortunately, imports are growing faster than exports meaning other countries could be benefiting more from Kenya, than Kenya is reaping from the relationships," he added. The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry has signed over 120 agreements with counterparts of other nations. The ministry of industry has set a target of increasing exports...

The African continent was the second fastest growing economy in the world behind South Asia in 2016. According to results shared at the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s Annual Meetings in 2017, East Africa in particular deserves the lion’s share of the credit for the continent’s performance. East Africa was the best sub-regional performer, with growth rising by 5.3% in real terms last year, followed by North Africa at 3.3%, Southern Africa at 1.1%, Central Africa at 0.8%, and West Africa at 0.4%. The AfDB presentation stated that three of the top five fastest growing countries on the continent were from East Africa as well. They were Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Djibouti and their economic output rose by 8%, 7.2%, and 6.3% respectively. Rounding off the top five was Cote d’Ivoire (8.4%) and Senegal (6.7%). The East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is a group of six nations – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. It provides a common market for the member countries to share goods and resources. The East African Legislative Assembly recently passed a $110.1 million budget for fiscal year 2017-18. This was an 8% rise from the previous year ending in June. The region has been trying to push the implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol with a special focus on free movement of labor across member nations. If successful, the EAC will set an example for the rest of Africa and help nations with less resources to get the support they need locally...

Traders have protested against the introduction of a Sh500,000 standard duty on all imported second-hand cargo at the Mombasa port. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) says it introduced the standardised duty to fight under-valuation of goods by importers. Under the new rule, importers will pay the duty for every 20-foot container of second-hand items and Sh1 million for a 40-foot container. But the rule has elicited protests from clearing and forwarding agents and importers. "We are not happy with the new directive that importers should pay the same duty for all imported second-hand items," said Rank Network & Logistics Director Clement Ngala. The agents complained that the introduction of the duty would kill the second-hand imports business. The importers also complained that valuation of goods before release from the port to the importers in Mombasa was taking too long. Julius Musyoki, a customs official, said under the new rule, all second-hand items of similar weight and value would be ranked together. "The Commission of Custom and Border has decided to standardise the duty on some imported items to harmonise the charges on imported goods of similar weight to fight under valuation," he said. Mr Musyoki however said the commission had not standardised the minimum duty on second-hand imports because that was not within its mandate. Mr Ngala also protested against what he viewed as hindering bureaucratic procedures during valuation of imported second-hand goods at the port. He said the back-and-forth between customs officers and their bosses slowed down clearance of...

The passion with which our president supports the integration of Africa and East Africa is amazing. Africa is so balkanized with miniscule individual country markets that can never create a strong foundation for sustainable economic growth. In the face of world powers, these balkanized statehoods are vulnerable to international conspiracy of the global big brothers. Africa is at the mercy of the unknown when one looks at our future survival. Our only hope would be in integration (not the late Muammar Gaddafi style where he wanted Africa to become one political entity irrespective of our diversity) but step by step as Museveni has proposed. Museveni says that the foundation for African single state should be built on strong regional political/economic blocks like the East African Community, Ecowas, Sadc and Comesa. I am told that by 1967, the East African Community was the global best practice model of economic integration. The European Union, the best economic/political block of our times, was no match to the formidable East African Community of the late 60s. All of us know what happened when Idi Amin came on the political stage. He squabbled with Tanzania and Kenya and the integration model was disrupted. By mid 1970s, the community had collapsed. With the strong leadership of Yoweri Museveni, Hassan Mwinyi and Mzee Daniel Arap Moi, the community was re-established step by step. We now see a community that has a reasonably working customs union, legislative assembly and East African Court of Justice. A semblance of free...

African ministers and business people joined their American counterparts in Washington, D.C., last week at the U.S.-Africa Business Summit, to discuss greater economic engagement, despite lingering uncertainty over the United States’ position toward global trade. Conversations at the Corporate Council for Africa-hosted event ranged from broad strategy to country-specific investments, with plenty of time for meetings and deal-making. Throughout those talks, a few key issues emerged. First on many attendees’ minds was what the U.S.-Africa relationship will look like under President Donald Trump’s leadership. But robust discussions also emerged around the role of business in pandemic response, how to target and achieve social impact and the need for regional integration and infrastructure improvements. Here’s a look inside several of those conversations, and where they may be headed. The U.S.-Africa relationship U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross addressed the summit, offering reassurances and some specifics about the administration’s view toward existing and future trade pacts with the continent. “We cannot ignore such a large, dynamic and vital part of the world,” he told attendees of the administration’s interest in Africa. The administration would like to see Africa continue to grow and become more self-reliant, he said. “Our trade relationship is vital to the security and stability of both the U.S. and Africa. But our relationship with Africa has to continue its transition from being ‘aid-based’ to ‘trade-based,’” Ross said. The U.S. will honor the African Growth and Opportunity Act, he said, adding that it will hold countries to account for the compliance restrictions....

Ships calling at the Port of Mombasa will be compelled to switch off their diesel engines and power their vessels using electric power. This is in line with the Kenya Ports Authority's (KPA) adoption of an elaborate Green Port Policy (GPP) aimed at enhancing environmental conservation. Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Paul Maringa said Green Port Policy and Implementation plan had been drafted. "The move will enable port authorities to assess the overall impact of port operations on environmental degradation, identify mechanisms of complying with international standards and design an action plan with best practices for effective implementation," Prof Maringa said. The project, which is being carried out with assistance from TradeMark Africa, includes provision of electrical power to ships calling at the harbour in what is known as 'cold ironing'. EXPANSIVE PORT BERTHS Several power sub-stations have been put up within the expansive port berths. The PS was speaking while officiating the opening of the first national workshop by Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre for Africa Region (MTCC-Africa) in Mombasa. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) together with the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) and KPA were selected to host MTCC-Africa. The centre is expected to engage shipping lines and jointly develop methods of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, reporting mechanisms and reviewing protocols. Data collected will be compared with a baseline survey that will be undertaken at the early stages of the research process by the Kenya Meterological Department. Upon analysis of the data, MTCC-Africa will advise...