Non-Tariff, AfCFTA and Trade Facilitation

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a Regional Economic Community (REC) comprising of 16 Member States¹. The SADC Business Council (SADC BC) is a regional apex body for the SADC private sector representing national business associations in the 16 member states (MS)

Through the support of the German Government, the GIZ-CESARE Programme , the SADC BC collaborates closely with the SADC Secretariat to identify and resolve Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) to improve intra-regional trade. In addition to this, the SADC BC has been raising awareness, through private-sector NTB and Trade Facilitation sensitisation workshops.

The SADC BC has also been delivering capacity-building and sensitisation interventions for the private sector on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The aim of this intervention is to ensure private sector participation in the AfCFTA processes and assist private sector to understand better AfCFTA developments and position themselves adequately to take advantage of the AfCFTA opportunities.

The AfCFTA offers significant benefits for the continent’s economic transformation by gradually eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers to Trade in Goods and successive liberalization of Trade in Services to promote the free movement of goods and services across the continent. Currently, fourteen (14) SADC Member States have ratified the AfCFTA.

The AfCFTA is expected to provide opportunities for growth through diversification led by expanded market opportunities. A recent study by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) suggests that effective implementation of the AfCFTA will positively impact Africa’s GDP, trade, output, and welfare with notably intra-African trade foreseen to increase by nearly 40 per cent in 2045 when compared to a situation without the AfCFTA.

To support the implementation of the AfCFTA, the private sector needs to make informed decisions about how to reap the benefits presented by the Agreement, while at the same time managing the challenges that may be encountered during the implementation. African governments need to actively engage the private sector at all levels.

Rules of origin are the criteria needed to determine the nationality of a product. Their importance is derived from the fact that duties and restrictions applied in several cases depend upon the source of imports. Rules of Origin remain a prominent feature of any trade agreement as it is a driving force for the tariff preferences applied to international trade.

TBA