Kenya Fires Back at Tanzania Over New Taxes, Business Ban on Kenyans
The fresh ban had caused tension in Kenya...
✨ Key Highlights
Kenya has officially requested that Tanzania retract its recently implemented excise duties, industrial development levy, and laws restricting foreign businesses, including those owned by Kenyans, labeling these measures as 'discriminatory.'
- Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui issued a strong statement on Wednesday, asserting that Tanzania's new regulations will harm both nations' economies and undermine the East African Community (EAC) protocol.
- The new measures include an excise duty and industrial development levy of 10 and 15 percent respectively, introduced by the Tanzania Finance Act 2025 and the amended Tanzania Excise (Management and Tariff) Act 2019.
- Additionally, Tanzania has banned foreigners from engaging in 15 small- and medium-sized businesses, prompting calls for retaliation from Kenyan leaders like Nandi Senator Samso Cherargei.
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Kenya and Tanzania Diplomatic and Trade Disputes - July 2025
Kenya has formally requested Tanzania to withdraw its newly imposed excise duties, industrial development levy, and laws that restrict foreign businesses, including Kenyan-owned enterprises, labeling them as discriminatory. This follows Tanzania's ban on certain Kenyan businesses, intensifying trade tensions between the two East African nations. In response, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei urged the Kenyan government to ban Tanzanian businesses and deport street beggars from Tanzania as a retaliatory measure. Amidst these tensions, President William Ruto and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed eight new bilateral agreements in Nairobi, bringing their total trade and cooperation deals to 25, a move that occurred just a day after Tanzania's restrictions on Kenyan businesses, highlighting efforts to strengthen alternative regional economic ties.
