Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to restrictions on developing countries that are members of the East African Customs Union to sign reciprocal trade agreements with the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit; and whether they intend to extend the current duty free and quota free access to UK markets to mitigate any potential losses to such countries as a result of a no-deal Brexit.

The UK continues to support the implementation of the EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the East Africa Community (EAC). As and when EAC partners find a way to agree to sign the EPA, the UK will seek to replicate this agreement.

As the UK leaves the EU, we want to avoid disruption to trade with EAC partners as far as possible. The Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act enables the UK to put in place a UK trade preferences scheme for developing countries. This will grant duty-free quota-free access to UK markets for Least Developed Countries including Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan, while providing generous tariff reductions for other developing countries including Kenya.