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Africa’s largest trading bloc resolves 385 non-tariff barriers

By Editor
15 April 2015   |   6:30 am
THE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) said 385 out of 476 NTBs identified as most restrictive to trade in the region through an online reporting system have been resolved while seven were considered non-actionable. Currently, eight categories of NTBs have been identified as most restrictive to trade in the region. They include…
Ato Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chairman of the COMESA Authority

Ato Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chairman of the COMESA Authority

THE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) said 385 out of 476 NTBs identified as most restrictive to trade in the region through an online reporting system have been resolved while seven were considered non-actionable.

Currently, eight categories of NTBs have been identified as most restrictive to trade in the region.

They include Government participation in trade and restrictive practices tolerated by governments; lengthy customs and administrative entry procedures; technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures.

According to the statement, other barriers include specific limitations including quantitative restrictions, and quotas; charges on imports; transport, clearing and forwarding; and issues related to transit clearance; and other procedural restrictions.

Customs and administrative entry procedures lead in the number of NTBs reported at 37 percent followed by transport, clearing and forwarding with 17 percent and other procedural problems with 15 percent, the statement added.

The online system was developed within the context of a tripartite arrangement among three African trade blocs namely COMESA, East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), for reporting, monitoring and eliminating NTBs.

It is a systematic way of capturing, storing, monitoring and tracing progress towards elimination of NTBs among the tripartite countries. This dynamic online system provides a systematic and transparent process for identification and elimination of barriers to trade in the tripartite region.

However, if the position of the World Trade Organisation’s former Director-General, Pascal Lamy, that removing barriers to trade and cutting red tape in half, which is what a multilateral Trade Facilitation Agreement could deliver, could stimulate the $22 trillion world economy by more than $1 trillion, is anything to go by, Nigeria and ECOWAS member countries must renew the drive in exploiting opportunities available in areas where there are comparative advantage.

According to him, the multilateral Trade Facilitation Agreement has real economic deliverables for a country that has the potential to exploit its comparative advantage in labour and other key industries.

Undoubtedly, the influx of finished goods to many developing countries has undermined the production capacity of many companies in such countries, Nigeria inclusive, with developed economies thriving on low trade relationships among developing economies in Africa.

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