EAC nods free trade talks with UK, UAE, Pakistan, Singapore

What you need to know:

  • According to the EAC secretariat, negotiations for the trade agreement will start any time before June 30 this year

Arusha. The East African Community (EAC) will commence negotiations with four economic giants on free trade area (FTA) arrangements.

The four—the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan, and Singapore—are among seven countries that have requested free trade agreement arrangements with the bloc.

According to the EAC secretariat, negotiations with the trio will start anytime before June 30 this year.

This is as per a directive by the EAC Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment which ended its meeting here recently.

In all, the ministerial segment of the meeting agreed on the prioritisation of the negotiations with seven countries seeking FTA pacts with the EAC.

However, the negotiations would first begin with the UK, UAE, Pakistan and Singapore, at least by June 30 this year.

The negotiations will later be undertaken with Turkey, China and Serbia, as the ministers from the seven partner states have resolved.

Among the items on the agenda of the meeting was a paper on the Prioritisation of EAC Free Trade Negotiations with Selected Third Parties.

The EAC International Trade Department coordinates the initiation, development and implementation of policies and programmes for trade integration with third parties.

As a Customs Union and Common Market, the EAC partner states are obliged to coordinate their trade relations with third parties.

In that vein, the member countries in the bloc have to adopt common principles, in particular those related to tariff rates and the conclusion of tariff and trade agreements.

Others are the achievements of the uniformity of measures of liberalisation, export promotion strategies and trade remedies.

In coordinating their trade relations, the EAC partner states also have to adopt common negotiating positions in the development of mutually beneficial trade agreements with third parties.

The ministers who met in Arusha also discussed the simplification and reforms in avocado export procedures in the Community.

They directed the seven partner states—Somalia is yet to be fully integrated—to undertake simplification of export procedures for avocado commodities and other fruit and vegetable exports.

The partner states were further directed to rationalise the issuance of various permits and licencing requirements with a view to eliminating those that are not necessary to meet the objectives being sought by the private sector.

The ministers resolved that the EAC member countries should introduce risk management to ensure regulatory compliance in addition to developing a common and standardised list of documentary and information requirements for avocado and other vegetable and fruit exports that adopts global best practices.

The sectoral council also directed the EAC member countries and the Arusha-based secretariat to mobilise resources for quality infrastructure for fruits and vegetables.

To that effect, a meeting of Trade and Customs experts to rationalise the permits and licencing requirements on agricultural exports and develop common and standardised export documents has to be convened by April 30th this year.

Speaking at the meeting, South Sudan minister for Trade William Anyuon Kuol Wol observed that the EAC was still grappling with reducing non-tariff barriers (NTBs).

“However, to sustain this progress, it was imperative for all stakeholders, including the private sector, to play a pivotal role in holding the EAC accountable and in devising effective mechanisms to address and monitor the reduction of NTBs,” he said.

In his remarks, EAC secretary general Peter Mathuki said there has been a consistent upward trend in intra-regional trade in the bloc.

According to him, in the financial year 2021/22, intra-trade reached $8.7 billion, followed by a further increase to $9.4 billion in 2022/23.