INCLUSION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS IN THE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

The East African Community was reborn in 1999. Currently, it has seven Partner States, namely; the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. The EAC and the European Union concluded an Economic Partnership Agreement (hereinafter to be referred as EPA) in 2013. In the EPA arrangement, Geographical Indications (hereinafter to be referred as GIs) have not been included alongside other trade aspects. However, both parties have committed to resume negotiation sometimes later after five years when the current EPA becomes operative. The window for renegotiation was left for those areas which were not agreed on including GIs. Using such panacea, this article calls for inclusion of GIs in the EPA, and urges EAC to seize the opportunity as a strategy for harmonising EAC Partner States’ legal frameworks and harness the benefits of protecting GIs within EAC Common Market.