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The assessment of Kenya’ s eligibility to receive benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act( AGOA) is not warranted at this time. However, three other East African Community( EAC) member states – Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda – will undergo an assessment of their AGOA eligibility status, said Office of the US trade representative( USTR).
It may happen that the assessment of the EAC members could result in their ejection from the preferential trade programme due to their ongoing commitment to a March 2016 EAC decision to phase in a ban on imports. A public hearing on the issue is scheduled to take place in Washington, US on July 13. It may be mentioned that the combined imports from
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Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda under AGOA’ S duty-free provisions amounted to US $ 43 million last year, an increase from US $ 33 million in 2015.
The USTR notice further cites the recent actions Kenya has taken, including reversing tariff increases, effective from July 1, 2017, and committing not to ban imports of used clothing through policy measures that are more trade-restrictive than necessary to protect human health. However, the US trade office will continue to monitor Kenya’ s actions to ensure that it follows through on its commitments.
It is worth noting that the review was conducted following a petition filed three months ago by a US-based recycled textiles association, alleging that the
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joint move to bar imports of used clothing violates AGOA eligibility criteria. It argued that thousands of jobs in East Africa and the US would be lost if the clothing ban is implemented. |
Prior to USTR’ s announcement on Kenya’ s AGOA status, Kenya had hired a Washington lobbying firm with ties to the Trump administration in response to the danger of losing AGOA benefits. |
Several Haitian textile workers staged protest on 26 June demanding a higher minimum wage, much to the dismay of managers of textile factories who threatened to leave the country if the Government did not end these |
demonstrations. The economic growth of Haiti relies mainly on the textile industry. According to export. gov, textile industry accounts for 90 % of its exports.
Angered by the increase in fuel cost and rapid rise in inflation,
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textile workers marched across the town from an industrial park near the airport to the Ministry of Social Affairs in downtown Port-au-Prince. Currently earning 300 Haitian gourdes, they are now demanding a hike of 800 gourdes per day. Though the report from the High Council of Salaries had proposed a rise of 400 gourdes a day, dispute within the council thwarted the proposal.
Meanwhile 6 companies have written to the Office of Prime Minister asking the Government to stop the demonstrations. The identical letter read:“ Total cost competitiveness, quality production and the proximity to the US were the reasons we selected Haiti while betting on major improvements on salary
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predictability and political stability. If those benefits no longer exist, then we will have to make other strategic arrangements to move from Haiti to other places where there is a clear state strategy to boost investments and protect investors while creating and protecting decent jobs.”
The 6 companies that signed the letter were MGA Haiti S. A., Astro Carton d’ Haiti S. A., Haiti Cheung Won S. A., Textile Youm Kwang S. A., Pacific Sports Haiti S. A. and Wilbes Haitian S. A.
The concern expressed by the companies was also shared by Roosevelt Bellevue, Minister of Social Affairs and Labour, who said,“ If the salary becomes too high, companies will leave and go to the Dominican Republic or Nicaragua.”
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