East African community-European union economic partnership agreement, to be or not to be? Will economic partnership agreement undermine or accelerate trade development within the East African Community?

Abstract

The economic relationship between the African, Caribbean and Pacific group 1 (ACP) and the European Union (EU) formally the European Economic Community (EEC) has a long history that stretches beyond 30 years of Lome and Yaounde Conventions? Formally this relationship started in 1957 when the EU signed an Agreement in Yaounde, Cameroon with the ACP countries'' committing to help the latter in promoting their economic and social development." The Yaounde Convention allowed for non-reciprocal duty free market access of the imports from the ACP countries into the European market. The Convention which had a life span of five years was renewed in 1969 for further five years till 1975 hence Yaounde II Convention." The structure established in Yaounde remains the framework for many aspects of ACP-EU cooperation until to date."