The world needs fairer – not less – trade to promote shared prosperity, UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Isabelle Durant told participants at the largest gathering on sustainable development progress in New York on 17 July. The High-level Political Forum (HLPF) convened at the United Nations headquarters in New York from 9 to 18 July to take stock of the progress made on the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) and chart next steps towards a more prosperous world by 2030. Geneva-based trade trio, UNCTAD, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC), told participants at the forum that trade is a powerful means for achieving the global goals. “Trade has been a major catalyst for economic growth, both in developing and developed countries,” Ms. Durant said. She said it has lifted standards of living in developing countries by improving access to food, medicines and education, among other benefits. Bigger pie, but not divided equally However, the benefits of global trade have not been distributed equally, Ms. Durant observed. While the value of trade has increased fivefold and its volume fourfold for the past 30 years, the bottom 50% of the population has captured only 12% of the total economic growth, whereas the top 1% captured 27% of it. In 1990, world trade was about US$5 trillion, whereas in 2018 its volume reached $25 trillion. “Trade has contributed to make the pie bigger, but its shares have not been divided equally,” Ms. Durant said. She noted that some developing countries have benefitted from global trade,...

Local business leaders have decried the low level of penetration and application of ICT among the business community across the East African Community (EAC) saying that this was among the major impediments to doing business in the region. This was observed Thursday during a dialogue dubbed ICT for Business, which was organised by the East Africa Business Council (EABC) a regional body that brings together private sector associations and corporates from EAC partner states. The meeting was aimed at collecting views from business owners on the best approach that can be used to fast-track the adoption of ICT in their daily business dealings at the regional level. Dennis Karera, the vice chairman of the council said that though governments have championed the campaign on ICT penetration and adoption, there has been slow uptake in this area among the private sector across member states. “We are all aware of the benefits ICT can bring to our businesses from time-saving to being compliant with government regulations  like paying taxes on time but it is regrettable that still, you conduct business with someone and they invoice you using a pen,” he said. Karera also warned business leaders, that if they continue to shun ICT, it will be very difficult for their businesses to survive, saying that governments are striving to broaden the market through initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area. “We therefore have no option but to embrace ICT,” he said. Going forward, Daniel Murenzi, the Principal Information Technology Officer at...

Heads of State drawn from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) are keen to see the incorporation of small and medium enterprises under the impending border-less trade on the continent. The leaders who were represented at the opening of COMESA’s high level business summit in Nairobi on Wednesday lay emphasis on the growth of the micro-enterprises who between themselves contribute to the largest share of jobs and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) output. “Each government should have the political will to support SMEs as they wouldn’t be able to penetrate a continental market by themselves. Further, we risk developing a free market which only serves the big boys,” noted Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu. While the continent is adequately resourced with a hardworking and enterprising populace, trade between partner states has remained well below average as exports to the rest of the world remain dominant. Intra-trade within COMESA accounted for a mere Ksh.814 billion ($7.9 billion) in 2017 in comparison to a greater share of Ksh.9 trillion ($86.9 billion) in total global exports. Acting Mauritian President Paramasimuv Pillay attributed the depressive trade play-out to continued barriers to regional trade to further pile pressure on partner states who remain keen on sheltering their internal markets from any external influence. “We must promote policies and measures to better the business climate by, for instance, eliminating barriers to SME licensing. We can also seek to relax some of the rules of origin to enable enterprises to source for raw materials widely,” he...

NAIROBI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) on Wednesday launched the COMESA Source 21 Business Facilitation Handbook to provide market information and investment for its members. Amany Asfour, immediate past chairperson of COMESA Business Council, told a regional forum in Nairobi that access to information across African economies has been hindered by the fragmented nature of respective national markets. "The handbook is the first step in combating lack of knowledge in the region and limited access to trade information in order to promote cross-border trade," said Asfour in Nairobi. The report details the amount of imports and exports that each member conducts within the trading bloc. "The business facilitation handbook will act as a tool to provide businesses with data that can inform their transaction and logistical costs while trading certain products in the region or looking to engage in partnerships within COMESA," said Asfour. She decried the low level of value addition in the region, adding that regional economies will prosper once processing and value addition of raw materials takes root. COMESA is a regional economic organization in Africa with 21 members. Source: xinhuanet

The move is aimed at speeding up the clearance of goods and services as a way of promoting regional trade. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s Directorate of Customs and Excise (DGDA) and the Uganda Revenues Authority (URA) have signed the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS), a standards operating procedure that will extend electronic cargo tracking to DRC. The move is aimed at speeding up the clearance of goods and services as a way of promoting regional trade. The project worth $642,000 is being funded by the Department of International Development (DFID) through Trademark East Africa.DRC joins other East African countries like Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda already implementing the Electronic Cargo Tracking system (RECTS).   The project will be implemented in three phases with the first phase being the launch of the Uganda Office; the second phase will be opening of the Goma office in eastern DRC while the final phase will be the launch of the Kinshasa command center, according to  Moses Sabiiti, TMA’S Country manager for Uganda and South Sudan. “The introduction of an electronic cargo tracking system to the Northern Corridor will reduce transit costs, lengthy transit times caused by physical checks in transit countries and across the DRC territory,” said Sabiiti. He added that the system that was launched on Tuesday at URA offices, will reduce the risk of freight diversion between the place of origin and checkpoints hence combating fraud and increasing the country's tax revenues through trade. “For DRC, this is the best solution...

Kenya on Wednesday urged investors from east and south Africa to explore investment opportunities in the country's strategic sectors. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said during the launch of 21st COMESA International Trade Fair and High Level Business Summit that Kenya has created a friendly investment climate. Kenyatta said that Kenyan is a leader in imports and exports of agricultural, horticultural and floriculture products, making it a strategic area for investors in different sectors of the economy. He said the government has undertaken legal and policy reforms aimed at making Kenya one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world. Kenyatta urged COMESA members to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to boost their socio-economic transformation. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic organization in Africa, with 21 members including Djibouti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi, the Comoros, Libya, Seychelles, Uganda, Tunisia and Somalia. Source: Xinhau

Heads of State drawn from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) are keen to see the incorporation of small and medium enterprises under the impending border-less trade on the continent. The leaders who were represented at the opening of COMESA’s high level business summit in Nairobi on Wednesday lay emphasis on the growth of the micro-enterprises who between themselves contribute to the largest share of jobs and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) output. “Each government should have the political will to support SMEs as they wouldn’t be able to penetrate a continental market by themselves. Further, we risk developing a free market which only serves the big boys,” noted Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu. While the continent is adequately resourced with a hardworking and enterprising populace, trade between partner states has remained well below average as exports to the rest of the world remain dominant. Intra-trade within COMESA accounted for a mere Ksh.814 billion ($7.9 billion) in 2017 in comparison to a greater share of Ksh.9 trillion ($86.9 billion) in total global exports. Acting Mauritian President Paramasimuv Pillay attributed the depressive trade play-out to continued barriers to regional trade to further pile pressure on partner states who remain keen on sheltering their internal markets from any external influence. “We must promote policies and measures to better the business climate by, for instance, eliminating barriers to SME licensing. We can also seek to relax some of the rules of origin to enable enterprises to source for raw materials widely,” he...

Speaking during the opening ceremony of Source 21 COMESA business summit, Kenyatta also urged the member states to explore different products that they could trade with and encouraged them to trade amongst themselves. “We need to come up with innovative and practical strategies to promote industrialization and enhance trade in our region,” Kenyatta said. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni also urged COMESA member states to integrate its highly fragmented market and follow in the footsteps of China which despite having a huge internal market, continues to pursue other markets. “China has an internal market of 1.3 billion people, yet they are fighting for other markets. They are fighting with the US to get more market, yet we continue to be satisfied with a small market,” Museveni said. In 2017, Intra-COMESA trade exports hit USD 7,914 from USD 7,757 in 2016. In 2017, COMESA trade imports hit USD 8,243 a rise from USD 7,307 BACK IN 2016. Kenya is currently holding the Source 21 COMESA International Trade Fair and High – Level Business Summit under the theme “The Hallmark of Quality”. The summit also includes a presidential public-private round table where heads of states interact with business leaders on key strategies to enhance industry competitiveness and formulate strategies to enhance local sourcing and intra-regional trade. The event has attracted members of the COMESA region aimed at increasing trade across Africa and to international states. Source: Capital News

The ink on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)agreement is dry and the players are ready to trade, but a large and complicated hurdle remains - non-tariff barriers (NTBs). NTBs are a wide range of restrictive regulations and procedures, other than tariffs, that make trade difficult and/or costly. They are one of the main roadblocks to trade on the African continent – much more than tariffs and include customs clearance delays, restrictive licensing processes, certification challenges and rules of origin. “The time and costs of moving goods in Africa will be reduced if there is political willingness to fight non-tariff barriers,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said. AfCFTA online NTBs reporting tool by UNCTAD and the African Union UNCTAD and the African Union are taking on these barriers through an online tool that aims to facilitate quicker and more efficient trade. Niger’s president, Issoufou Mahamadou, and Dr. Kituyi presented the new tradebarriers.africa platform to the African Union at the 12thAfrican Union Extraordinary Summit in Niamey, Niger on 7 July. “Looking at the map of Africa, one has a sad feeling of facing a broken mirror. Our generation has the historic responsibility of breaking these borders,” Mr. Mahamadou said. “The AfCFTA will benefit all Africans.” The AfCFTA non-tariff barriers online mechanism is designed to improve intra-African trade by offering a site for reporting and resolving non-tariff barriers experienced by businesses, particularly small ones, and those owned by women and youth. Lowering and managing non-tariff barriers better will also help maximize the anticipated benefits of the free...

July 10—Ugandan logistic firms are teaming up with relevant government institutions to organize an expo intended to highlight bottlenecks and find solutions in the industry amidst moves for closer regional integration in the East African Community (EAC). “Right now, the sector is fragmented. There is also no specific regulations, or statistics on the sector. If we are going to participate competitively in the EAC and beyond, we must be organised as a sector in the areas I have mentioned,” Hussein Kiddedde, who chairs the Uganda Freight Forwarders Association (UFFA) said during news conference Tuesday. A notable characteristic of Uganda’s freight business was expressed in a 2017 report published by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), ‘Most of the cargo transport between Mombasa and Kampala occurs in an outbound direction, i.e. trucks driving towards Kampala are typically fully loaded while trucks driving in the direction of Mombasa are often empty’. UFFA, in partnership with the National Logistics Platform, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and the Ministry of Transport and Works is to hold the Second Regional Logistics Expo 2019 on August 21 in Kampala. Officials said they want to bring together the public and private sector to discuss developments, challenges and the way forward for the logistics sector. Private Sector Foundation-Uganda (PSFU) executive director, Gideon Badagawa said Uganda is well positioned to be a regional trade distribution hub. However he said there is a need for the logistics sector to reorganize due to its importance in the regional supply chain. “There is a...