Tripartite Task Force Customs
Senior Customs and Trade officials of all three RTAs (COMESA, EAC & SADC) are well aware of the advantages which the region would derive from the smoothly functioning and harmonious transportation of goods .
At present each RTA has its own specific set of documents and regulations required for goods passing through its borders (even though many of those borders are traversed by traders from member States of more than one RTA). This leads to frustration and long delays at borders – which all acknowledge is detrimental to the overall region’s economic benefit.
The Tripartite Task Force has agreed to work towards remedying this situation with the development of a Matrix of areas to be worked upon as well as actions to be taken, those with responsibility for their implementation and a timeframe.
The Action Matrix for the Customs and Trade Sub-Committee contains such focal areas as: Trade facilitation and Customs Best Practices; Capacity Building; Rules of Origin; Customs Declaration Documents; Regional Customs Bond Guarantee; Common Tariff Nomenclature; Non Tariff Barriers; One Stop Border Posts etc.
Work is already being undertaken on such aspects as the development of common customs documents; harmonised Rules of Origin; reconciliation of templates on product categorisation; compilation of an inventory of harmonised standards; development of a common framework for categorising NTBs in line with the WTO/UNCTAD, etc.
It will be some time before the results of this work are actually realised at the borders with shorter queues and faster processing time but all recognise the considerable difference it would make for the competitiveness of trade in the region.