UGANDA SIDES WITH TANZANIA ON ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP EXIT

Mr Julius Onen, the permanent secretary Ministry of Trade. FILE PHOTO 

By ISMAIL MUSA LADU

Kampala. Uganda is prepared to delay the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) after Tanzania, one of East Africa Community (EAC) partner states raised a red flag, fearing the repercussion the deal would have on the growth of the emerging regional industries.
The deal between European Union (EU) and the EAC is expected to be signed at the margins of the upcoming UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIV) taking place in Nairobi, Kenya from July 17 to 22.
Should the deal eventually collapse, regional products to the EU market and vice versa would not be subjected to preferential treatment.
According to the permanent secretary at the Tanzania’s ministry of East Africa, Mr Aziz Mlima, the exit of Britain, a key member, from the EU bloc has also brought confusion that must be fixed before the move to seal the deal proceeds.
Mr Mlima was last week quoted by the IPP Media in Tanzania as having said there is need to study the agreement further as well as seek public approval before committing pen to paper. According to him, Tanzania is not prepared to be rushed into signing the agreement not until it is certain about it.
In an interview with Daily Monitor on Monday with the permanent secretary ministry of Trade, Mr Julius Onen, it became clear that once any member of EAC becomes hesitant, there will be no deal until a common position is reached.
He said: “We are aware about that (reservations by Tanzania). At the moment we are consulting each other. We are not prepared to disintegrate. So we would rather sign it altogether at once even if it means postponing it.”
He continued: “Even as we consult our position has always been simple: we sign it together. And we will do anything to keep away from disintegrating.”
Proponents of the EPA say the regions stand to benefit from the pact because it aims to promote fair trade between the two blocs, a claim trade analyst, Mr Nathan Irumba, refers to as a wild goose chase.
Once signed, products from the EU will have unlimited access to EAC market and in return, the five regional countries will reciprocate in equal measure. However, Mr Irumba says this sounds good on paper but difficult to implement because the two blocs are not at the same level of development.
The Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute country director, Ms Jane Nalunga, in a press briefing on this development, said: “The reservations that Tanzania raises are the same issues we have been raising for years now. We believe that we need to reconsider our positions and we need space, including policy space to develop our capacity to compete before committing to such deals.”
CREDIT: MONITOR