The current dispute over trade tariffs between Tanzania and Kenya is unlikely to escalate, as otherwise it would negatively affect both economies, Francis Lukwaro, the chairman of the Dar Es Salaam Regional Chamber at the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2018) The current dispute over trade tariffs between Tanzania and Kenya is unlikely to escalate, as otherwise it would negatively affect both economies, Francis Lukwaro, the chairman of the Dar Es Salaam Regional Chamber at the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, told Sputnik.
Both Tanzania and Kenya are members of the East African Community (EAC), which provides a common market for goods, labor, and capital in the region. In September, Kenya imposed 25 percent import duties on some Tanzanian products manufactured with the use of imported raw materials. For instance, duties were imposed on flour, which Nairobi claims is produced from imported wheat. The dispute came after Tanzania denied duty-free access to Kenyan confectionery produced with the use of imported industrial sugar. The row emerged a month after the two countries announced an end to all trade disputes.
"The minor tariffs are not having a very serious impact on both economies, because if they put something which will strain Tanzania, then the Kenyan economy will go down as well ... I don't think ... [that the trade row would escalate] because they [Tanzania and Kenya] are sitting and talking at the table together, so if there is any impact, then it will be seriously taken up by the government, but it has not reached that level yet," Lukwaro said.
Lukwaro noted that the sides maintain "regular discussions" on the issue in bilateral format and expressed hope that the disagreements would be resolved on the basis of the East African Community trade agreement.
"It's not a very serious dispute and there are discussions between the governments. So Kenya and Tanzania are not fighting for those, but there are regular discussions about making them convenient to the business transactions. There is no such serious impact on trade. Then we have the East African common trade agreement, so no one can come beyond that," he said, asked whether the sides would appeal to the EAC to settle the trade dispute.
The EAC brings together Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Since 2010, the community launched the common market and now plans to create a monetary union.
