The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has commenced the implementation of the Trade Remedies Regulation, aimed at shielding member states from anti-dumping and highly subsidies goods that pose potential harm to the regional bloc countries.

This trade measure assumes critical importance in mitigating potential losses arising from unfair trading practices and unexpected surges in imports during commercial transactions.

While originally adopted in 2000, the application of this protectionist measure has predominantly focused on Kenya, notably in safeguarding the country's sugar industry.

The comprehensive enforcement of these regulations follows the inaugural session of the Trade Remedies Committee, which convened on April 24, 2024.

Established pursuant to the directives of the COMESA Council of Ministers during its 44th session in November last year, the committee aims to expand the scope of available remedies.

The activation of this committee signifies the commencement of the implementation phase for the trade remedies regulations.

It is anticipated to foster equity and boost intra-regional trade within the COMESA Free Trade Area (FTA), presently comprising 16 participating Member States.

"Trade liberalisation, in isolation, cannot uniformly deliver the expected benefits to all member states. In the realm of trade, winners and losers are inevitable," said Mohamed Kadah, COMESA's Assistant Secretary-General overseeing programmes.

With the implementation of the Free Trade Area, COMESA member states have embraced the importation of goods from fellow members, a development that has led to revenue losses for some states due to the influx of competitively priced imports, consequently adversely impacting local production, hence the need for application of remedies.