Trade is a basic economic commodity that activates and improves people’s socio-economic livelihoods. To increase competitiveness and spur regional economic growth, quality control and checking are pivotal. Standards, testing, conformity and assessment processes have been frequently mentioned as barriers to trade. East African countries – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and now the rookie member, South Sudan — are addressing these barriers with the aim of increasing intra-EAC trade. Proper testing and certification increases the speed at which goods are traded across borders, ensures conformity assessment certificates are accepted, reduces rejection of goods and minimises costs. This is where the TradeMark Africa-supported Standards Harmonisation and Conformity Testing Programme comes in. The programme was launched in 2011 to help the East African National Standards Bureaus achieve regional harmonisation of standards and improve testing capacities, thereby improve trade competitiveness. So far, there are 70 new harmonised standards. Also, a 59 per cent testing cost reduction and 74 per cent average testing time reduction have been achieved across the East Africa Community bureaus of standards respectively. An analysis of volumes and values of intra- and extra-EAC trade of sampled products that the programme supported, indicates a growth trajectory — a 144 per cent increase in intra and extra EAC trade (from $857,997 in 2010 to $2,094,748 in 2014). The programme has also achieved clear results on market access requirements and certification of locally manufactured products by small and medium enterprises, particularly in Kenya. There has been a 194 per cent increase in the...

Making access to visas easy or scrapping the requirement entirely is an important way governments can help promote tourism and trade among the nations of the continent, according to the African Development Bank (ADB). The ADB has developed the Africa Visa Openness Index to assess which countries have the most open and efficient visa access. The bank says cumbersome visa procedures undermine doing business across borders on the continent. On average, travel within the continent is often difficult because African nations are “more closed off to each other than open” the ADB said in its 2016 report (pdf) on visa access. “Free movement of people is not a reality across Africa.” Most require visas in advance The report said only 20 percent of the 55 countries in the index do not require visas and only 15 percent offer visas on arrival, meaning more than half require visitors to obtain visas in advance. To make matters worse, the report said, many of Africa’s strategic hubs have restrictive visa policies while the continent’s small, landlocked and island states tend to be more open to promote trade links with neighboring countries. The report said countries in West and East Africa tend to be more open than in other regions. The top 10 nations for openness stand out, with an average score of 0.86 (out of 1) on the ADB index, more than double the overall average of 4.25. Seychelles is first for openness The top 10 countries are Seychelles, Mali, Uganda, Cape Verde,...

East African Community member states have failed to reach a deal on a common tax rate as the bloc’s smaller economies worry about significant revenue losses. The failure to harmonise value added tax, income tax and excise tax rates has left the regional bloc deliberating on how to harmonise legislation and regulatory frameworks governing the operations of these taxes in each country. A three-day meeting — convened by the EAC’s Sectoral Council on Finance and Economic Affairs in Arusha Tanzania from May 5-7 — to deliberate on the issue failed to agree on a policy framework to guide the process and instead sent the document to a consortium of experts. The draft EAC Domestic Taxes Policy Framework, which is under consideration, is critical for the harmonisation of VAT, income tax and excise duty. The Committee on Fiscal Affairs said the process of producing the domestic taxes harmonisation policy was taking too long and directed the EAC Secretariat to convene a meeting for the tax policy and tax administration subcommittee to look into the draft document and develop an EAC policy on tax harmonisation by August. Kenya’s National Treasury said while harmonisation of domestic taxes is a priority for the bloc, some countries are reluctant to go that route because of the fear of loss of  revenue. “This issue came up as part of the discussions during the meeting in Arusha last week. VAT has not been harmonised because it is an important source of revenue so countries are reluctant to lose out,” said Geoffrey...

RWANDA has initially opted to develop rail links to Indian Ocean ports through Tanzania because they were cheaper and shorter than the route transiting Kenya, Finance Minister Claver Gatete said. According to him, studies done by member states in the six-nation East African Community (EAC) showed that the Tanzanian option would cost about 800 to 900 million US dollars. In an interview at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in the capital, Kigali, Mr Gatete reported that the Kenyan project would cost one billion US dollars, he said. “We are working on the Dar es Salaam one, which will be cheaper because it’s the shortest route,” the Rwandan minister told reporters. In 2013, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda agreed to link up to the Kenyan port of Mombasa along a standard-gauge railway estimated to cost 13 billion US dollars. The project was scheduled to be completed by March 2018. The ‘East African’, a Nairobi-based newspaper, reported on May 3 that Rwanda was in talks with Tanzania and Burundi concerning a shared route through their countries instead because Uganda’s plans to develop a link to its northern neighbour, South Sudan, would delay the Rwandan portion of the project. It’s the second time Kenya may lose out on plans to develop regional infrastructure. Last month, President John Magufuli secured an agreement to have a pipeline in western Uganda routed to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. That scuppered an accord between Kenya and Uganda in October 2015 for the conduit to pass through...

Rwanda is focusing on developing proposed rail links to ports on the Indian Ocean through Tanzania first because it’s cheaper and shorter than a route transiting Kenya, Finance Minister Claver Gatete said. Studies done by member states in the six-nation East African Community showed that the Tanzanian option would cost about $800 million to $900 million, Gatete said in an interview Thursday at the World Economic Forum on Africa in the capital, Kigali. The Kenyan project would cost $1 billion, he said. “We are working on the Dar es Salaam one, which will be cheaper because it’s the shortest route,” Gatete said. Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda in 2013 agreed to link up to the Kenyan port of Mombasa along a standard-gauge railway estimated to cost $13 billion. The project was scheduled to be completed by March 2018. The East African, a Nairobi-based newspaper, reported on May 3 that Rwanda was in talks with Tanzania and Burundi about a shared route through their countries instead, because Uganda’s plans to develop a link to its northern neighbor South Sudan would delaying the Rwandan portion of the project. Kenya Snub It’s the second time Kenyan may lose out on plans to develop regional infrastructure. Last month, Tanzanian President John Magufuli secured an agreement to have a pipeline in western Uganda routed to its port of Tanga. That scuppered an accord between Kenya and Uganda in October 2015 for the conduit to pass through northern Kenya to a proposed port at Lamu. The railway route...

African economies must reduce trade barriers and make it easier for people and goods to cross borders to boost growth in the face of headwinds from a commodity price drop, African officials and delegates at the World Economic Forum in Rwanda said. The International Monetary Fund said average growth in sub-Saharan Africa would fall to its lowest in nearly two decades this year, at 3 percent, with commodity exporters struggling and government finances coming under pressure. "As we develop the regional markets in Africa, we’ll reduce the susceptibility of Africa to these global commodity price shocks," African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina told a news conference in the Rwandan capital Kigali. Trade between African nations accounted for just 11 percent of total transactions, compared with Asia where regional trade accounted for 40 percent and Europe where it was 70 percent. Adesina said there were some positive signs - Africa-to-Africa investment had climbed, rising from $10 billion to $50 billion a year - although he didn't give a time frame. But he said high tariffs and non-tariff barriers such as poor roads, railways and ports hindered progress. "If there were a real willingness to dismantle trade barriers, you could get growth gains regardless of what was happening in the rest of the world because of broader markets," said Razia Khan, Africa economist at Standard Chartered Bank. While there are several trading blocs in Africa, few have acted swiftly to completely dismantle barriers to commerce, though the six-member East African Community...

African economies have changed and trade relations need to evolve since the U.S. first started offering duty-free access to certain countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in a Bloomberg interview. Since AGOA first started in 2000, African economies have become more integrated and they’ve changed in terms of demographics, development and technology, Froman said in Kigali, Rwanda, at the World Economic Forum. A deadline is looming for Froman’s office to update Congress on sub-Saharan African countries that want to negotiate free-trade agreements with the U.S., Politico reported. The U.S. is consulting with African officials, business leaders and regional experts on what should happen next. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 1 percent of U.S. trade in 2015, according to Bloomberg. When AGOA was renewed in 2015 for 10 years, Congress mandated a progress report and re-evaluation of the overall trade and investment relationship between the U.S. and sub-Sahara by June 29, the one-year anniversary of President Barack Obama signing the bill into law. “It’s time to start looking at what comes next,” Froman told Bloomberg. “Part of what motivates us is that we are hearing from Africans that they want to move towards a more permanent, reciprocal kind of relationship.” Many in Congress have grown tired of extending one-way trade preferences to Africa without gaining reciprocal access for U.S. goods, Politico reported. The U.S. started free-trade talks with South Africa and other members of the Southern African Customs Union in 2003, but never reached a deal....

Kampala’s decision a blow for Kenya’s oil ambitions in eastern Africa, although presidents say they will continue to work together on oil projects Uganda is to route its oil exports through Tanzania after a report found the country was a cheaper and more secure option than its other east African neighbour Kenya. Uganda is to use Tanga, a seaport city about 200km north of Dar es Salaam, to export its crude oil, rather than Lamu in Kenya. The announcement was made last month at the East African Community (EAC) summit held just outside Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Uganda said a pipeline between Kabaale, in Hoima district, and Tanga, of about 1,400km, will be the most cost-effective route when Uganda begins exporting oil by 2020. Map showing pipeline route and locations of Lokichar and Lamu Having had a pipeline route through Kenya rejected by Uganda, Kenya plans to build a pipeline from Lokichar in its oil-rich Turkana region to Lamu, where it is building a port, close to the border with Somalia. “President Yoweri Museveni [of Uganda] and I have announced that Kenya will embark on the construction of the Lamu-Lokichar pipeline while Uganda will build the other pipeline through its southern borders,” wrote Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, on Facebook. “We have, however, agreed to continue cooperating on petroleum issues since both countries are new in the industry.” In March, Museveni and Kenyatta asked experts from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to assess both routes and, in a report last month, Ugandan experts...

A new action agenda to help African economies improve their economic competitiveness has been published by the World Economic Forum, the African Development Bank, OECD and the World Bank. The agenda comes at a time when shocks such as low commodity prices and a strong US dollar have highlighted the region’s chronic lack of competitiveness and the need for urgent diversification. Africa’s competitiveness challenges are well known and have been highlighted in the Forum’s “Africa Competitiveness Report” series since 1998. In a quest for long-term solutions to this chronic challenge, the four partners staged a series of high-level competitiveness workshops across Africa’s regional economic communities (RECs) between October 2015 and April 2016 with the aim of prioritising actions available to leaders. The resulting “Action Agenda for Raising Africa’s Competitiveness” synthesises more than 120 recommendations of more than 200 participants from government, business, academia, international organisations and civil society from across the East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and francophone North Africa. Across all regions, two elements were emphasized by participants: * Better public and private collaboration can be achieved by increasing levels of trust, establishing regular channels of collaboration and consultation, agreeing on a shared vision and working towards shared goals. * Greater regional integration can improve competitiveness and growth by opening markets, leveraging economies of scale, lowering costs and increasing the diversity of goods and services. Partners collaborated with the Rwanda Development Board and Brand South Africa for...

The African Union (AU) said on Saturday it has started the process of issuing the continent’s passport. Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amina Mohamed told a briefing in Nairobi that African ministers of foreign Affairs have began filling in the forms for the Africa passport which will be issued at the AU summit in July. “I have the honor to inform you that in line with the decisions of the AU Summit of Heads of State and Government to facilitate free movement throughout the continent, through the creation of African Passport for Heads of States and Ministers, the issuance process commenced on Friday,” Mohamed said on the sidelines of the Fourth AU Executive Council Retreat. This is the first time the retreat is being held in Kenya as previous ones were hosted by South Africa and Ethiopia. African Passport holders should receive a 30 day visa on arrival at all AU member states. Mohamed said that regional economic blocs such as the East African Community have already introduced regional passport to ease travel within the blocs. “The African passport will build on the success achieved by the trading blocs and help to achieve the dream of free movement of Africans across the continent,” she said. The CS noted that the continental passport will help to speed up the process of establishment of the Africa Economic Community. “It will also boost intra-Africa trade that is below the level of other continents,” she added. Source:...