...Unlike Kenya, the other East African countries have nothing to lose if they do not ratify the deal, known as the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), by the October 1 deadline — at least not in the short term.

The EPAs are trade and development agreements negotiated between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) partners engaged in regional economic integration processes. When talks on the deal began in 2002, the East African Community (EAC) agreed to enter the negotiations as a bloc.

But with the signing deadline looming, Tanzania has put the first nail in the coffin after publicly declaring it would not sign the agreements.

...The absence of Tanzania,(in the last negotiations meeting) East Africa’s most populous nation, set the stage for what would come days later. The country stunned Kenya when it rejected the trade deal that has been negotiated for more than a decade on the grounds that it is not in the interests of its local industries...

.. (After Kenya's defaulting on an earlier deadline, the EU ) immediately slapped Kenyan exports into the European market with punitive taxes.

This saw products attract duty of between 5 per cent and 22 per cent, threatening to price local traders out of the international market.

This cost exporters more than Sh600 million in discounts every month to allow them to factor in the new taxes and remain competitive. More than 87 per cent of Kenya’s exports are agricultural, agro-processed and manufactured products.

The levies were reversed in December 2014, three months after they were enforced.

EU’s arm-twisting tactic was received with indignation, with some people describing it as “heavy handed” and “blackmail”.

One policy analyst told British publication The Guardian: “It’s putting Kenya in a situation of forcing its partners to sign up to something they were not in favour of.”...

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/mobile/article/2000211386/collapse-of-eu-trade-deal-kenya-finds-itself-isolated-for-a-third-time-in-four-months?pageNo=2