Adding that вЂњSmart has the rightвЂќ to petition for punitive action against countries alleged to be violating Agoa rules. Ms Hamilton however responded that prior consultations had failed to resolve the issue at hand. Mr Lande told the panel that the US Congress intended that such official inquiries should be held only when вЂњall other possibilities have been exhausted.вЂќ

Washington-based trade consultant Stephen Lande asserted that the hearing should not have been convened at all. READ: Kagame: We choose to grow our economies, industries A Rwandan representative replied that the increase would be in effect for only one year.ДЄ member of the Ugandan delegation at the hearing also insisted that Tanzania's and Uganda's doubling of levies on used-clothing imports - from $0.20 to $0.40 per kilogramme - was not a вЂњtariff increaseвЂќ but rather a вЂњrealignment.вЂќ Ms Hamilton also pointedly asked how Rwanda's increase of tariffs from $0.20 to $2.50 per kilo could be seen as consistent with the rules of the World Trade Organisation. The US president has vowed to oppose any trade initiative that he deems injurious to American interests.Д¬onstance Hamilton of the US Trade Representative's office and other government officials challenged the East Africans' insistence that the agreed-upon three-year phase-out of used clothing imports did not amount to a 'ban'.

Looming over the three-hour session was the Trump administration's вЂњAmerica FirstвЂќ policy. Kenya was not represented at the hearing. The opposing parties presented their comments to a panel of representatives of six US government agencies: the departments of Commerce, Labour, Treasury and State, as well as the US Agency for International Development and the Office of the US Trade Representative. READ: Kenyan jobs at risk as Trump commerce chief warns on AgoaДЄLSO READ: Secondhand clothes ban shelved to save Agoa trade agreement The Kenyan embassy in Washington says that 66,000 jobs in Kenya are linked to Agoa's textile-export provisions. Kenya sold $394 million worth of textiles and clothing on the US market last year, compared to the total $43 million sum of Agoa trade for Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

Kenya would have far more to lose from suspension of its duty-free textile export privileges under Agoa than would any of the other EAC countries. Smart specifically seeks confirmation that Kenya's reported imposition of minimum tariffs on containers of used goods вЂњwill not be implemented in a manner that negates the July 1 roll-back of Kenya's tariff increases,вЂќ Mr Bogard said. READ: Kenya hires lobby firm to prevent ejection from Agoa The decision was said to be based on вЂњrecent actions Kenya has taken, including reversing tariff increases, effective 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.вЂќД«ut the Smart lawyer argued that Kenya ought to be included in the Agoa eligibility review until Nairobi clarifies its commitments. Top US trade agency had announced last month that Kenya would be spared review of its Agoa eligibility. Mr Bogard also argued that Kenya should be included among the EAC countries facing partial loss of their Agoa benefits.

Freac vs eac 2017