EU's trade policies criticised
Story in the Kenyan Daily Nation (http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/) by ALLAN BULUKU
Publication Date: 9/23/2005

Kenya's volume of exports to the European Union cannot increase because of the economic bloc's tough trade policies, an assistant minister said yesterday. 

But Mr Zaddock Syong'oh, of Trade and Industry, noted that the exports currently stand at 36 per cent of the country’s total.

Mr Innocent Kayihura (left) of the United Nations Development Programme, chats with Mr Hakim Ben Hammouda of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa during the opening of a continental meeting on Economic Partnership Agreements at the Whitesands Beach Hotel yesterday. The workshop ends tomorrow (Saturday). Photo BY Gideon Maundu .

He was speaking during the opening of a regional meeting on economic partnership agreements at Whitesands Hotel, Mombasa.

The meeting is organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) and the African Union (AU). He said the EU's tough conditions for the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) prevent them from benefiting from multilateral trade agreements.

"Even after the EU countries opened the doors for African goods, they have still failed to meet even 20 per cent of their market needs," he said.

Unfavourable conditions

He said there were still unfavourable policies such as specific supply chains demanded by the EU.
The minister also took issue with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which, he said, tended to wipe out other bilateral and multilateral pacts such as between the ACP and the EU on technical grounds.

'It is disappointing that even after we have made successive trade steps with the EU, the WTO comes over and overrides our agreements, making them impracticable," Mr Syong'oh said.

"There is a need for the harmonisation of trade policies. It is now increasingly appearing that the free market access to the EU has not assisted the ACP countries to improve their economies at all. 

"With trade obstacles from the WTO and lack of capacity in meeting the EU standards, the trade imbalance between Africa and the West will still be on."