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East Africa: Non-Tariff Barriers Hinder EAC Trade
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The Nation (Nairobi)
9 May 2008
Posted to the web 9 May 2008
Kaburu Mugambi
Nairobi
Obstacles to business transactions remain one of the outstanding blocks to speedy integration of the East African Community economies.
These are barriers not based on tariffs per se, though they hinder trade deals among the people of the economic region. The stumbling blocks relate to customs, immigration, administrative procedures and regulations as well as licenses, among others.
East African Community ministry PS, Mr David Nalo, on Wednesday said that although regional mechanism to eliminate the non-tariff barriers has been developed, not much success has been achieved. He said it was difficult in any economic integration process to find all member countries in agreement in all aspects of opening up borders to one another.
"The whole idea of negotiations is to give confidence to all partners so that we can move forward," the PS told reporters at his Nairobi office. After signing the East African Customs Union Protocol in 2004, which commits Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to the elimination of tariff barriers, businesses are still grappling with non-tariff barriers.
As a result, the Kenyan negotiating team will hold a two-day workshop from Monday to discuss common market protocol and non-tariff barriers that keep recurring.
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The aim of the meeting will be to develop a common position that the country will adopt during talks with other members. Speaking separately, East African Business Council chief executive Charles Mbogori called on key private and public sector players in the region to work on a smooth establishment of the common market.
Participation of the two key bodies, he said, would speed up the drafting of a model protocol of the common market to be adopted by EAC's five members.
"The common market coming closely after the implementation of the Customs Union in 2005, will accelerate trade and services provision in the region," Mr Mbogori said in a statement.
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