[CTC] Blumenauer: Kenya plastics concern could be ‘flashpoint’ for trade panel

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Blumenauer: Kenya plastics concern could be ‘flashpoint’ for trade panel
By Isabelle Icso, Inside US Trade 
09/01/2020
Petrochemical industry efforts to influence U.S.-Kenya trade talks could be a “flashpoint” for House Democrats this fall, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) said on Monday, citing fears that the Trump administration could pressure the African country to undo laws limiting what he called the “horrific” proliferation of plastics.
Blumenauer, chairman of the House Ways & Means trade subcommittee, said the industry was trying to “limit what countries can do -- even something as simple as” Kenya’s ban on plastic bags, a claim advanced by environmental groups that has been rebutted by a major industry association.
But in an Aug. 31 interview with Inside U.S. Trade, Blumenauer charged that “ancillary elements” were seeping into the U.S.-Kenya trade talks, “where some business interests, in this case the petrochemical industry, want to be able to undo and restrict what other countries can do and in this case be able to deal with some of the horrific consequences of the proliferation of plastics.” He said the panel could take up the issue once the House is back in session.
Kenya in 2017 announced a ban <https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/kenya-announces-breakthrough-ban-plastic-bags> on the use, manufacture and import of all plastic bags. It is also a signatory to a 187-member agreement <https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/11/world/basel-convention-plastic-waste-trade-intl/index.html>, which did not include the United States, to curb plastic trade via an amendment to the so-called Basel Convention.
“They want to restrict the ability of foreign countries to do what American cities can do,” Blumenauer said of the industry. “And candidly, probably what we should consider doing on a national level.”
Blumenauer added that the issue was a “potential flashpoint with our subcommittee to make sure that we are not undoing or interfering with sound, thoughtful policies particularly in a case of a country that is further down the development scale.” He called it “an example of where the petrochemical industry is trying to insert itself into these discussions” with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The New York Times on Sunday reported <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/climate/oil-kenya-africa-plastics-trade.html> that the American Chemistry Council, which says it represents “a diverse set of companies engaged in the business of chemistry,” was lobbying U.S. and Kenyan negotiators to reverse limits on plastics, including the plastic bag ban. It cited comments submitted by ACC to U.S. government agencies earlier this year.
In one of those comments, ACC said “We anticipate that Kenya could serve in the future as a hub for supplying U.S.-made chemicals and plastics to other markets in Africa through this trade agreement.”
But Betty Maina, Kenya’s trade and industrialization minister, said the U.S. had not proposed a reversal of the ban on plastic bags, according to a Sept. 1 interview <https://www.the-star.co.ke/business/kenya/2020-09-01-kenya-denies-secret-plastic-deal-reports-in-us-trade-negotiations/> with The Star.
“No such proposal has been brought to the negotiating table. Claims in the story are neither here nor there,” she said, according to the report. “We will negotiate with [the] U.S. guided by Kenyan laws.”
The ACC also rebutted the claims made in the Times story, as well as allegations made by environmental groups. The group said it “never mentioned Kenya’s approach to single use plastic bags even once” in its comments submitted to the U.S. International Trade Commission in June, which were cited by the paper. The association in April submitted similar comments <https://www.americanchemistry.com/ACC-Public-Comments-on-US-Kenya-Trade-Negotiations_050620.pdf> to USTR to inform the U.S.’ negotiating objectives with Nairobi. to USTR to inform the U.S.’ negotiating objectives with Nairobi.
In both submissions, ACC contended the two countries should “commit to promoting global and regional cooperation in facilitating trade in used plastics and prohibit restrictions on trade in such products for the purpose of being reused or recycled.”
Additionally, in an Aug. 31 response <https://www.americanchemistry.com/Media/PressReleasesTranscripts/ACC-news-releases/Chemicals-and-Plastics-Industry-Corrects-Record-on-Its-Position-Regarding-US-Kenya-Trade-Negotiations.html> to the Times article and other reports, the ACC said: “It is well understood that a bilateral trade agreement between the United States and Kenya will not override Kenya’s domestic approach to managing plastic waste or undermine its international commitments under the Basel Convention.”
“The U.S. chemical industry has publicly recommended to the United States government various approaches for the U.S. and Kenya to consider that could help Kenya reach its social, economic, and environmental goals,” the ACC continued. “For example, industry has publicly supported calls to help Kenya more effectively address marine debris by developing infrastructure to collect and sort used plastics, which have been recognized as a valuable feedstock resource. With the support of better waste management infrastructure, countries can recycle and reuse valuable materials and trade them across borders.”
Blumenauer’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the rebuttals from Kenya and the ACC. In the interview on Monday, though, he lamented what he called “just one of those things going on in the background where business interests are trying to secure a position that would pre-empt what this ... less prosperous country could do.”
“What they are trying to do is not good policy for Kenya or for the United States and it’s an example of where trade agreements need to be more transparent,” Blumenauer said of the industry. “We need to be more actively involved in dealing with the policy implications.”
The global proliferation of plastics, he added, “has very serious environmental and economic consequences. And this just shouldn’t be sidelined. This is something that needs to have more careful attention. This is an area where the subcommittee may make its interests heard.” 

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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