The Political Economy of Second-hand Clothing A Study of Import Reduction Policies on Used Garments in the East African Community
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Abstract
This article investigates the background and implementation of the East African Community (EAC)’s policy to phase out imports of used clothing and textiles between 2016 and 2018. The policy aimed to protect and develop the region’s domestic textile industries by raising import tariffs, with the goal of banning such imports by 2019. However, fears of losing preferential trade benefits under the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) led most EAC member states to abandon the initiative—except Rwanda, which continued to uphold the policy. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of neo-mercantilism and closed regionalism, the article analyzes how economic protectionism emerged as a regional strategy to safeguard national interests and how Rwanda maintained policy autonomy under global trade pressure.
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References
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