WASHINGTON: The collapse of free trade talks between Canada and the European Union is yet another sign of increasingly stiff resistance to economic globalization. Despite seven years of talks between Ottawa and Brussels, the CETA Treaty crashed into a wall Friday (Oct 21) after being rejected by the Belgian region of Wallonia, making it impossible for the European Union to approve the deal. That was an ominous sign for another ambitious treaty, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the United States and the EU, which also faces strident opposition on both sides of the Atlantic. And one huge deal already struck, the Trans Pacific Partnership between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries, is foundering because of the refusal so far of the US Congress to ratify it. And now, both candidates for the White House, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, say they do not support the treaty. It is a sharp reversal of a quarter-century since the fall of the Berlin Wall of support in the world's leading economies for freer trade and globalization. Now, the enthusiasm for breaking down borders appears to be fizzling out. "We are seeing the results of several decades of failures by political leaders to take the concerns over trade seriously," said Edward Alden of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. For many years accusations have mounted that the progressive breaking down of trade barriers and removal of import duties in advanced economies has caused deindustrialization and huge...

Lower commodities prices have had some far-reaching effects on African economies. For exporters, weaker revenue has damped growth. Consider Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and biggest oil producer. The country’s gross domestic product contracted 2.1 percent in the second quarter, following a 0.4 percent slump in the first. Adjusting to this new reality will take time for energy exporters. Most African economies, though, aren’t in the oil business. For them, lower fuel costs support growth and living standards. So fortunes are set to diverge across the continent. In fact, the narrative could change from “Africa Rising” to “Africa Tilting” as commodity exporters in West, Central, and Southern Africa struggle to find new sources of growth, while East African economies develop and integrate into a more robust—and potentially huge—regional market. From 2010 to 2014, economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa averaged 5.2 percent. After oil prices plunged in 2014, growth slowed to 3.4 percent in 2015. It’s likely to be weaker still in 2016, but the decline in aggregate terms largely reflects slowdowns in Nigeria, fellow oil exporter Angola, and South Africa. The three countries accounted for about 60 percent of sub-Saharan GDP in 2015 but less than 30 percent of its population. For Bloomberg Intelligence analysis and data on Africa. Deeper integration, better-functioning markets, and improved infrastructure could all bear fruit as the continent pursues other sources of growth. East Africa is leading the way. The African Development Bank, in its inaugural Africa Regional Integration Index Report, rated the East African Community—Burundi,...

Stability may have returned to Burundi but for traders in Cibitoke, the hotspot of the conflict set off by President Pierre Nkurunziza running for a third term last year, the good old days seem over. “We used to earn between $80 and $100 per day but now we get around $20 for the entire month, which is too little to pay rent and meet home needs,” said Caroline Akeza, a hair dresser. Until the protests, Cibitoke was one of Bujumbura’s busiest neighbourhoods, with booming small businesses. Now the streets are almost empty with few shops opened as most residents have relocated to safer areas. “I used to earn about $5 per day but now even getting $1 is a problem,” said a cobbler who did not want his name disclosed. For the businesses that have reopened in Bujumbura, scarcity of foreign currency has limited their scope of operation. The plight of small traders underscores the challenge Burundi has in improving the livelihoods of its citizens. During the International Day for the eradication of poverty last week, the United Nations Development Programme director in Burundi Natalie Boucly said urgent measures needed to be taken to reduce poverty. “In a country like Burundi where the majority of the people live on not more than $1.25 per day, the government and all stakeholders should unite to meet the needs and aspirations of all citizens for the sake of the present and future generations,” Ms Boucly said. Burundi is now ranked as the poorest...

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) is considering admitting Somalia and Tunisia into the bloc. “[The Summit] mandated the Bureau of Council to enter into negotiations with Tunisia and Somalia on terms and conditions of accession to the Comesa Treaty,” reads part of the communique after the bloc’s Summit held in the Antananarivo, Madagascar, on October 18-19. Comesa spokesman Mwangi Gakunga could not say how long these negotiations will take before a decision on the two countries’ application is reached, as this is determined by the bloc’s highest decision making body — the Heads of State Summit or Comesa Authority. “Upon receipt of the application for membership, the Authority may prescribe the conditions and such other conditions for admission which shall be communicated to the applying state. Article 3(3) of the Regulations provides that admission of membership shall be decided by the Authority,” the regulations state. In 2005, Tunisia applied for observer status to Comesa, but its application was neither discussed nor endorsed by the member states. In February, it renewed its push to formally join the bloc when it wrote to Comesa Secretary-General Sindiso Ngwenya. Mr Ngwenya said that under Article 1(4) of the Comesa Treaty, Tunisia was eligible for admission as it is “an immediate neighbour of a member state of Comesa…upon fulfilling conditions that may be determined by the Comesa Authority.” Source: The East African

Arusha — The process to establish four key institutions that will support the proposed East African Monetary Union (Eamu) has started, the East African Community (EAC) has said. The four institutions include the EAC Monetary Institute, the EAC Statistics Bureau, the EAC Financial Services Commission and the EAC Surveillance, Compliance and Enforcement Commission. Speaking here recently, the EAC secretary general, Mr Liberat Mfumukeko, said the process to lay the foundation for establishment of a monetary union were on gear. "The dream is to have east Africans trade easily using any of their currencies and eventually have an East African common currency," he said in his maiden press conference recently. He said the four institutions envisaged were needed because the establishment of a strong Monetary Union will require a robust institutional framework to ensure compliance and safeguard the convergence process. The EA Monetary Protocol was signed in Kampala, Uganda in November 2013 during the EAC Heads of State Summit after negotiations which started in January 2011. Once in place, the Monetary Union, whose protocol has ever since been ratified by the five member states of the Community, would promote and sustain a zone of sound monetary policy and prudent fiscal policies to reinforce the monetary policies. The roadmap of the Eamu provides for its establishment over ten year period, time within which, the single currency shall be realized. At the same time, the exchange rate policy shall have a convergence phase and the conversion of exchange rates formulated. Mr Mfumukeko, who...

Dar es Salaam — Tanzania has much further to go on its "remarkable journey of reform" under President John Magufuli, a senior Burundi has said. Ms Leontine Nzeyimana, Burundi's Minister in the Office of the President Responsible for East African Community (EAC) Affairs, hailed President Magufuli's leadership on Monday saying his administration would meet Tanzania's desire for reform. "Tanzanians may be complaining about life's hardship now, but they should bear with this transitional period only because all this will forgotten in the near future," she said in an exclusive interview with The Citizen. She said the East African Community (EAC) "is still amazed" by the Tanzanian President's leadership style. The Burundian minister cited the fifth phase government's cost-cutting drive, tough stance against corruption and efforts to instill accountability in the civil service a recipe for social and economic development. "President Magufuli has demonstrated readiness to save his people, and it is upon other leaders in the bloc to adopt his spirit," Ms Nzeyimana. But she warned it would not be an easy road for the government's reform drive because "people are resistant to change". The success of Tanzania in its reform agenda would also depend on the support from the people, she said. Turning to doing business with Tanzania, the Burundian minister said her country and other landlocked East African nations stood to benefit from the improvements that President Magufuli has initiated at the Dar es Salaam Port. "Bureaucracy and the theft of goods imported via the Dar Port posed...

East Africa ranks as one of the world's most economically dynamic regions and offers “enormous potential” for investment by US companies, the US Chamber of Commerce said in a report issued on Tuesday. Growth rates in some of the East African Community (EAC) member states now rivals those of a few of the Asian countries that Wall Street has touted as “new emerging economies,” the report observes. Kenya's per capita GDP has already climbed past that of Bangladesh and Pakistan, notes the 35-page study titled “Building the Future: A Look at the Economic Potential of East Africa.” Trade with and within East Africa will be greatly facilitated by large-scale infrastructure projects now underway, the US Chamber says. It cites, for example, the standard gauge railway linking most of the region's landlocked states with Mombasa, and the Bagamoyo Port project in Tanzania, which “stands to be East Africa's largest port when completed.” While US trade with the region doubled between 2010 and 2015, it remains “marginal,” the report says. It notes that China and the European Union (EU) have much more robust trading relationships with East Africa. “Kenya, the United States’ leading trading partner in the region, imported 14 times as many goods from China than it did from the United States in 2014,” the Chamber points out. Similarly, it adds, the EU imported three times as many goods from Kenya than did the US in 2014. And the report warns that the European Union will likely become even more competitive...

By Zephania Ubwani Nairobi — Aflatoxin, a poisonous and cancer-causing chemicals produced by certain molds which grow in grains, is a barrier to food exports from Africa and threat to human health, according to a senior East African Community (EAC) official. This is mainly due to stringent regulations on Aflatoxin regulation, which limits how much produce enters the global market. "The entire African continent is susceptible to Aflatoxin contamination and that its high incidence continues to pose threat to human and animal health", the EAC deputy secretary general in charge of Economic and Social Sectors, Ms Jesca Eriyo, said in a speech availed to The Citizen. She gave the warning in her keynote address to the Second Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (Paca) Platform meeting currently underway in Entebbe, Uganda. She quoted latest report by experts, who estimate that losses from Aflatoxin in Africa have escalated to the tune of $450 million each year due to stringent standards by the European Union (EU) alone. Ms Eriyo further warned that the poisonous chemical was one of the challenges that the African continent need to address in order to achieve global developmental aspirations such as the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063. The toxic material is regularly found in improperly stored staple commodities such as cassava, chili peppers, corn, cotton seed, millet, peanuts, rice, sorghum, sunflower seeds, tree nuts, wheat, and a variety of spices. Other development goals for the continent that may be affected by the the toxic material include Sustainable...

In the good old days East African tour operators could sit back and know that eager visitors will come to sample the region’s spectacular offerings both for scenic beauty and the singular experience of seeing animals in the wild. Like clockwork, the regional industry and especially in Kenya and Tanzania, could expect good revenues in the high season and pick up some business in the low seasons by virtue of arranging special packages. Indeed the word ‘safari’ took on international prominence, because of East African tourism. To a large extent, the likes of Ernest Hemingway and such classic movies as the ‘African Queen’ also helped matters along. Today, that complacency and sense of smugness is foolhardy. The world has changed during the past half century and not always for better. International tourism is now a cut-throat industry and if East Africa wants a play an active part, it has to work for it. Economists call travel a “superior good”, meaning that as people’s incomes grow, they spend a greater proportion of it on travel. The welcome mat is not enough anymore.  You have to go abroad and aggressively flap it about to gain attention. These days you almost literally have to drag the tourists to come and it is not cheap. A television 30-second spot on a leading European, American or Japanese broadcaster can cost a couple of million dollars.  That is why when  tourism agencies ask for marketing funds, governments should not raise up their hands in despair. The...

Tanzania has pulled out of the East African Community (EAC) common visa, in a move described by analysts as a plan to protect itself from economic competition from the region’s other nations. The decision effectively locks out Tanzania from ‘coalition of the willing’, an initiative by the region’s nations of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to promote tourism and enable their nationals to freely engage in business without restricted movement, Jamhuri News reported. The visa is valid for three months. It was set to woo tourists form across the globe into the three nations as it markets the region as a single tourism destination. Several foreign tour operators had in the past complained about the immigration hardships they faced at the respective border entry points into the nations. The pull-out by Tanzania will however not affect the remaining nations from signing a cooperation pact on tourism to enable tourists move between the three nations using a common visa that will be charged $100 (10,122), $5 than the before. Tanzania’s decision to pull out of the common visa comes three months after it pulled out of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EAP) with the European Union (EU). The trade pact is meant to help the EAC members to directly export products into the EU market. The Tanzanian government took the decision to protect its local industries. The confusion surrounding Britain’s withdrawal from the EU bloc also informed the decision,Daily Nation reported. Uganda followed Tanzania, a decision which stopped the signing of the trade...