This archive report was first published on 28 November 2019.
As the world continues to grapple with the complexities of global trade, Kenya's trade negotiators have been facing a daunting challenge: striking a balance between protecting the country's economic interests and ensuring that its farmers and small businesses can compete in the global market.
According to Adam Smith's classic work, The Wealth of Nations, trade is a selfish social and economic endeavour in which human beings seek to exchange what they can produce at a relatively cheaper cost for what they cannot produce at the same cost. This win-win scenario is what Kenya's trade negotiators should be striving for, but unfortunately, the country's recent trade agreements have fallen short of this ideal.
Take, for instance, the failed avocado deal between Kenya and China. The agreement, which was touted as a major breakthrough for Kenyan farmers, ultimately proved to be a recipe for disaster. The stringent standards imposed by China, including the requirement for farmers to install equipment to cool the fruit and freeze it to -30 degrees Celsius, were simply unattainable for most Kenyan farmers.
But what's even more disturbing is that the Kenyan government seemed to have been oblivious to the fact that these standards were, in fact, barriers to trade. As the International Trade Centre and the World Trade Organization have pointed out, regulatory barriers like these can have a devastating impact on small businesses and farmers, who often lack the resources and expertise to comply with them.
So, what went wrong? According to Edwin Kimani, an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, the problem lies in the government's approach to trade negotiations. Rather than involving stakeholders and consulting with experts, the government has been relying on its agencies to negotiate trade agreements on behalf of the country. This approach, Kimani argues, is flawed and lacks transparency and inclusivity.
As Kimani points out, trade negotiations should not be an exclusive mandate of the government. Public participation, as enshrined in the Constitution, should be the norm. By involving policy researchers, business societies, and special interest groups like the youth and women in agriculture, Kenya's trade negotiators can ensure that negotiations are alive to the circumstances within the country's socio-economic setting.
Ultimately, Kenya's trade negotiators need to adopt an information-led trade strategy that takes into account the country's competitive advantages and weaknesses. By doing so, they can ensure that trade agreements are fair, equitable, and beneficial to all stakeholders, including small businesses and farmers.
