EAC scraps 10 trade barriers as new ones emerge

Arusha. Ten trade barriers have been shown the door in the East African Community (EAC) bloc.

This is as four new ones emerged, making the fight against them a perennial task for the partner states.

Eight non-tariff barriers (NTBs), though still outstanding, are at different levels of resolution.

A ministerial meeting on trade and industry held here early this week called for swift scrapping of the remaining NTBs.

The meeting was chaired by Burundi’s Minister of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism Marie Chantal Nijimbere.

She is the chairperson of the EAC Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment.

South Sudan which joined the Community in 2016 came under fire for charging visa fees to EAC nationals visiting the country.

Nationals of Burundi and Rwanda travelling there appear more targeted by the visa fees which have been highly criticised.

Visa charges are also imposed on EAC citizens arriving in South Sudan through the Juba International Airport.

However, a Juba government official told the meeting at the EAC headquarters in Arusha that the matter was being sorted out.

The meeting further directed the partner states that still impose visa requirements on EAC citizens to remove the requirement by November 2023.

They expressed concern that some partner states still impose visa requirements on EAC citizens.

 They stressed the need to expeditiously remove the requirements, adding that such requirements could also hinder access to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The meeting observed that it was high time the EAC considered putting in place a borderless bloc to facilitate the smooth flow of capital services and goods.

Among the resolved NTBs were a 25 percent excise duty imposed by Kenya on Ugandan table eggs and 25 percent Kenyan excise duty on onions, potatoes, potato crisps and chips from Uganda that became effective 1st July, 2022.