Kenya: Plans to lift suspension on mitumba imports ban underway
The government is at an advanced plan of lifting the suspension on importation of second hand clothes.
Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina says her ministry and that of Health are drafting safety guidelines to guide the handling and selling of second clothes before the ban is lifted.
This comes after mitumba traders said they were running out of stock following that ban on importation of mitumba in early this year.
Late in March, the government banned importation of mitumba clothes and shoes in line with World Health Organization guidelines that recommend such bans during a pandemic outbreak.
In recent weeks mitumba traders have called for the lifting of the ban noting that they were running out of stocks, even as the government says this is being considered.
The CS called on traders to intensify screening of buyers.
The Cabinet Secretary says Kenya hopes to become the 23rd state to sign a free trade agreement with the US, with officials from the two countries negotiating trade agreements, that will succeed the AGOA deal when it lapses in the year 2025.
She explained that FTA negotiations are aimed at ensuring continued trade between Kenya and the US when AGOA arrangement comes to an end in 2025.
Kenya has earmarked the new trade agreement to gain a foothold in the US market.
CS Industry & Trade @maina_betty has assured Kenyans that the Government will negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with the USA which will protect Kenya’s commercial and economic interests. @IndustryKE @ForeignOfficeKE @usafrica_biz @kenya_chamber @DrFrancisOwino @NTVnewsroom pic.twitter.com/XsoPadOzYW
— Trade Kenya (@Trade_Kenya) June 23, 2020