US Tells Kenya to Rethink Ban on Second Hand Clothes Imports
A senior US trade official has urged Kenya the other East African Community countries Uganda and Tanzania to “revisit” their collective ban on second hand clothes imports.
The official said that reasons given in support of the ban by Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda “are not supported by data or research,” said Ms Constance Hamilton, acting assistant US trade representative for Africa.
His comments will be translated to mean that the Trump administration is in support of US business association which argues that the three countries violated the eligibility criteria for the preferential trade program known as Agoa.
The African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) stipulates that participating countries must eliminate “barriers to US trade” or be making progress in that direction.
The US-based Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (Smart) presented that the three-year phase out of second hand clothe imports, commonly known as mitumba, amounts to such a barrier.
Smart petitioned US trade officials in March block Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda from the Agoa deal.
The three phase-out is likely to jeopardize 40,000 jobs in the US recycled-clothing industry, according to Smart.
Kenya initially agreed to implement the EAC ban on mitumba, but rescinded the decision.
Comments
How about some US Non-Profit…
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How about some US Non-Profit Organizations Directly DONATING the Second Hand clothes to the Poor in Africa and Other 3rd and 4th World Countries.
Hehehe Kenya to rethink…
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Hehehe Kenya to rethink about dumping used clothes to Africa????Other day British burned miraa n USA last year burned ovacados n Other produces coming from Kenya stating ati ziko na chemicals???Kenyan gover sat dwn spent many months discussing about this mitumba n they knew jobs will b lost.They started epz making new clothes which r way way cheaper than this used clothes.They have bin giving farmers lots of money to grow cotton n a new epz r bin contructed around our cities so please USA should b busy to find where they will b dumping their used clothes.Waafrica wr not 3rd citizens!!!I bot new jeans for 300ksh n new shirt for 120ksh Other day at kicc when the Kenyan made clothes were brot to the pple.This Kenyan made has started n it's not stopping.jubilee Tano tena.
Mitumba should be banned…
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Mitumba should be banned irreversibly. Ethiopia has no mitumba clothes and thwy are poorer than Kenya. Kenya should refuse mitumba completely. Do you realize that some of the clothes sold in the US market are made by Kenyans in EPZ where US companies come for cheap labor? So Kenyans make new clothes for US and then they are sold the same clothes as mutumba a few seasons later. Upubavu waAfrica waache!!!! NO TO Mitumba!!
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