OVER 80 percent of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) reported through the online system developed within the tripartite COMESA-East African Community and South African Development Community (SADC) has been resolved.

According to a status report presented at the ongoing COMESA policy organs meeting in Addis Ababa, 476 NTBs have so far been reported on the online system, http://www.tradebarriers.org out of which 385 have been resolved.

At least seven were considered non-actionable.

A press statement issued by COMESA Secretariat Public Relations Officer Mwangi Gakunga on the 18th COMESA Summit, currently, eight categories of NTBs have been identified as most restrictive to trade in the region.

They included government participation in trade and restrictive practices tolerated by governments; lengthy customs and administrative entryprocedures; technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures. Others were specific limitations including quantitative restrictions, and quotas; charges on imports; transport, clearing and forwarding; and issues related to transit clearance; and other procedural restrictions. It was notable that no NTB of the SPS related category have lately been reported meaning that member states are applying the health and sanitation measures judiciously,” he said.

“Part of the reason why reported NTBs take long to resolve is the different understanding the parties involved have regarding them,” says the report.

Customs and administrative entry procedures lead in the number of NTBs reported at 37 percent followed by transport, clearing and forwarding with 17 percent and other procedural problems with 15 percent. The three categories account for 69 percent of the reported NTBs.

“The online system was developed within the context of the Tripartite Arrangement among COMESA, EAC and SADC, for reporting, monitoring and eliminating NTBs. It is a systematic way of capturing, storing, monitoring and tracing progress towards elimination of NTBs among the tripartite countries. This dynamic online system provides a systematic and transparent process for identification and elimination of barriers to trade in the tripartite region,” he said.

Source: Swazi Observer

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