Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: KENYA will appeal against a regional court ruling that halted a trade deal with the European Union, Trade Minister Lee Kinyanjui said on November 26, adding the ruling imperils $1.56 billion worth of annual exports to the EU.
The Tanzania-based East Africa Court of Justice suspended the implementation of the deal on November 24, Kinyanjui said, pending the outcome of a case brought by a nongovernmental organisation challenging it. Kenya signed the deal, known as an Economic Partnership Agreement, with the EU in 2023 to guarantee its goods market access to the 27-nation bloc, and setting out a schedule for European goods to access the Kenyan market over time.
A summary of the case against the agreement on the court’s website showed the NGO, the Centre for Law Economics and Policy, brought the case against Kenya on the grounds that the agreement with the EU violated some provisions of the treaty establishing the East African Community common market, of which Kenya is a member.
While Kenya exported $1.56 billion worth of goods to the EU last year, it imported $2.09 billion worth of goods from the bloc, the minister said.
