Kenya Races to Rescue Crucial EU Trade Agreement Halted by Court Ruling

Kenya on Wednesday pledged to challenge a judicial decision that put its trade pact with the European Union on hold, according to a statement from the Ministry of Trade.
The ruling, issued by the East African Court of Justice, stemmed from a petition submitted by a policy institute claiming that Kenya’s unilateral move to endorse the agreement breached multiple clauses of the East African Community (EAC) treaty.
The EAC is a regional political and economic alliance comprising eight nations in East Africa.

Implemented in 2024, the Kenya–European Union Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) had faced resistance from regional trade analysts, who maintained that such an accord should have been negotiated collectively by the entire bloc rather than by Kenya acting independently.

The arrangement, however, remains open for other EAC member states to sign onto.
The suspension is consequential for Nairobi, whose commercial exchanges with the EU — worth roughly €3 billion in 2023 — include almost €1.2 billion in exports.
The pact grants Kenya the ability to ship products such as flowers and fruits to European markets, while the EU, in return, secures unrestricted entry into Kenya’s market along with gradual tariff reductions on its goods over a span of 25 years.

Source: Araba Sey