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Kenya: EABC Wades Into Kenya, Uganda Non Tariff Barriers Trade Tiff

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4 years ago

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Kenya and Uganda need to engage in bilateral negotiations to eradicate all outstanding Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs).

EAC products have been denied preferential market access as a result of trade sanctions.

Intra-EAC trade is currently at a low of 15 per cent.

The East African Business Council (EABC) is urging Kenya and Uganda to engage in bilateral negotiations to eradicate all outstanding Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs).

It is hoped that a bilateral conversation will avoid a trade standoff and retribution from the implementation of NTB by Kenya and Uganda in accordance with the Treaty for the formation of the East African Community (EABC) spirit.

Instead of using retribution as the final solution, EABC believes that the two sisterly nations should sit down together and work out all of their differences peacefully.

Because EAC products have been denied preferential market access as a result of trade sanctions, intra-EAC trade is currently at a low of 15 per cent, which will worsen employment opportunities, market access, and the economies of scale of our sectors for East Africans as a whole.

NTBs not only increase the time and cost of doing business across borders but also reduce the competitiveness of EAC-produced goods.

NTBs persist and grow because of the lack of an effective EAC trade dispute settlement system (the EAC Trade Remedies Committee) and the poor speed of resolution of NTBs by the EAC Reginal Monitoring Committee (EMC). EABC has recognized these two concerns as important to addressing NTBs: (RMC). In November 2021, only two National Trade Barriers (NTBs) were resolved by the Sectoral Council of Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI), while 12 were still unresolved.

On behalf of the East African business community, the East African Business Council (EABC) urges:

All EAC Partner States to eliminate all sorts of barriers imposed on goods and services produced from within the EAC bloc.

This is because NTBs hinder the free movement of goods as enshrined in the EAC Customs Union and Common Market Protocols at the detriment of East African manufacturers and traders – importers & exporters from both countries.

EAC Partner States to ratify Article 24 (2) of the EAC Customs Union Protocol to pave way for the operationalization of the EAC Trade Remedies Committee.