East Africa cuts non-tariff barriers to increase trade

East African countries have managed to reduce trading times and costs through elimination of non-tariff barriers (NTBs), advancing trade and prosperity, a regional trade development lobby said on Wednesday.

"A reduction of NTBs will invariably lead to more trade in the region, which is ultimately our goal, of growing prosperity through trade," said Matsaert, CEO of TradeMark East Africa, a donor-funded organization formed to help regional states speed up integration.

"This is a significant milestone in the growth and development of our region. Non-Tariff Barriers remain a stumbling block in growing prosperity in the EAC region," he said during the launch of an evaluation report in Nairobi..

The report comes at a time when elimination of NTBs remains a teething challenge not only to regional trade and integration but also a subject that partner states grapple with in the quest of growing trade within the EAC bloc.

Analysts say barriers like customs documentation requirements, varying systems of customs formalities and non-harmonised standards requirements among others continue to impede trade within the region.

They also say that if NTBs were removed on maize, for example, Uganda would benefit significantly in terms of increased production and trade compared to Kenya and Tanzania.

The time taken to export from Uganda has successfully reduced from nearly 35 days in 2010 to under 30 days in 2015.

Other areas that have witnessed great progress include Tanzania which has witnessed a 99 per cent reduction in application time from 5 days to only one hour due to implementation of an electronic certificate of origin. Endit