The Kenya-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations is a Mockery to Environment.
Nobel-peace prize winner and renowned Kenyan environmentalist, Prof Wangari Maathai once said , “If we destroy the environment, we destroy the base upon which development can take place.”
In the midst of a raging Covid-19 pandemic among other domestic, regional and global challenges, concerns surrounding the timing of the Kenya-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations as well as its viability to promote Kenya’s long-term sustainable development objectives have emerged.
One growing concern is on dumping of plastic waste in Kenya by US oil and chemical producers.
The Idea of chemical and oil and gas companies to use Africa as a dumping ground undermine African countries’ plastic laws protecting against plastic waste. This is sort of a classic example of how trade deals can chip away at, or get rid of, a country’s domestic environmental regulations.
In 2017, Kenya passed a law banning single-use plastic carrier bags in line with Basel Convention, a global agreement on the control of the importation and disposal of plastic waste.
Disturbingly, the US was not a party to the agreement. This is because US officials faced immense pressure from lobbyists representing the chemical and oil industry who were not in support of the agreement.
Trade statistics show that US exported over one billion pounds of plastic waste to countries around the world, including Kenya. The plastic waste was exported under the pretence that it would be recycled but it turns out that the plastics were the kind that are hardest-to-recycle and therefore most were dumped into the rivers and oceans.
I will say that a good agreement should actually start with what the goals are, which is how to actually improve people’s livelihoods, and setting standards that companies have to meet in order to get the benefits of the agreement.
Finally, a successful trade agreement between the U.S. and Kenya will depend on mutual understanding and a deep respect for the sovereignty of each nation to decide what is best for its people.
Africa is not a dumpsite. Every country should be responsible for their waste.
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