Kenya cannot ban Mitumba without upsetting the US,Just ask Rwanda
Kenya cannot ban Mitumba without upsetting the US,Just ask Rwanda
In 2016, five East African countries; Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda, had announced a joint plan of banning the importation of second-hand clothing popularly known as Mitumba.
This, the EAC Council of Ministers who proposed the ban, said was to help spur local manufacturing through the adoption of the Industrialisation Policy.
The EAC directed member states to source their textiles and shoes from within the region with a plan of phasing out imports by 2019.
The EAC also went further and proposed a reduction in imports of used cars.
The region was seeking to push for the promotion of motor vehicle assemblies together with textile and leather industries in the region.
Everything was on track until the United States, through then President Donald Trump got itself involved and scattered the plans to the four corners of the earth.
Washington insiders were rattled by this move and quickly moved to put out this fire before it got hotter.
The US government initiated “an out-of-cycle review of Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda’s AGOA eligibility regarding their decisions to phase in a ban on imports of used clothing and footwear.”
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides duty-free treatment to goods of designated sub-Saharan African countries (SSAs).
The program dates from 2000 and has the goal of promoting economic growth through good governance and free markets.
It covers non-textile as well as textile goods and was most recently re-authorised through September 30, 2025.
The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART), asserted that the East African Community (EAC)’s 2016 decision to phase in a ban on imports of used clothing and footwear would impose significant economic hardship on the U.S. used clothing industry, and is inconsistent with AGOA beneficiary criteria for countries to establish a market-based economy and eliminate barriers to U.S. trade and investment.
SMART’s petition requested an out-of-cycle review to determine whether Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, members of the EAC, are meeting AGOA eligibility criteria.
