Kenya-US Trade Deal Challenged At the East African Court Of Justice

A case has been filed at the East African Court of Justice seeking to nullify the Kenya Free Trade Agreement (KFA) with the United States.

Lawyers Christopher Ayieko and Emily Osiemo lodged the petition at the Court of Justice challenging Kenya’s plans to sign the free trade deal with the USA.

The duo is pleading with the court to declare the agreement as illegal, null and void on the grounds that it violated the East African Community (EAC) Treaty and its protocols.

In their submissions, the lawyers argued, “that Kenya, without due regard to the provisions of the EAC Treaty and the protocols for the establishment of the Customs Union and Common Market Protocol, to which it is a party, entered into, negotiated and/or expressed intention to negotiate a bilateral Free Trade Agreement with the United States of America in total violation of the Treaty and the protocols,”

Lawyers Achieng and Oyeko also sought to have Kenya barred from importing American wheat from Idaho, Oregon and Washington States. A request based on grounds that the government failed to provide information on the proposed agreement and the adopted phytosanitary protocol of the certification of wheat grain with the US to the EAC Council on trade relations.

On the other hand, American and Kenyan companies have been asked by President Donald Trump’s administration to table their views on the suggested fresh free trade window as it lays a foundation for the deal.

It is planned that the US Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will hold a public hearing in Washington DC on April 28, which will double as the last day of submitting written comments.