Trade Facilitation Issues
Making conditions easier, faster and cheaper for trade to take place
The objective of RTFP's work in this sphere is to establish more conducive conditions for regional trade to take place. If this can be achieved, traders, investors and producers will respond positively and the region's peoples stand to benefit through more vibrant economies.
Trade facilitation measures need to be regional because if one country reduces clearance times to a few hours but the other side of the border still has clearance times of days, there is no overall improvement. Trade facilitation will take place if systems are harmonised between countries, especially in the southern African region where so many countries are landlocked and a high proportion of traffic is transit traffic.
At present RTFP is working on:
- One Stop border posts – joint borders mean only one set of officials, minimized documents and reduced waiting time.
- Regional Transit Bonds – a simpler way of guarding against freight being off-loaded in countries which are not the ultimate destination. Work is also being carried out on Electronic validation of documents – cutting back on endless paperwork with a computerized system for Customs authorities.
- Non-tariff barriers – monitoring of regulations and situations which prevent the free movement of goods regionally and internationally.
- Standards – cross-regional agreement on the precise definition of products
- Monitoring Cross border trade – research to identify how much informal trade goes on and who it is carried out by
Monitoring Cross Border Trade:
As a programme aiming to improve regional trade as it affects the most vulnerable members of society, RTFP needed to have baseline data on cross border, informal, trade, i.e. that which tends to be undertaken by women and small entrepreneurs. The Southern African Migration Project (SAMP – a research network based in 8 of the region's countries under the auspices of the Queen's University, Ontario) has been monitoring the type, volume and value of goods carried through selected border posts by small scale or informal traders.
Capacity Building for Trade Negotiators:
Students from 11 countries in the region studied for their Diplomas in Trade Law and Management with the Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa (TRALAC) in 2006. Of these, two women were sponsored by RTFP – one from Lesotho and one from Kenya. In addition, the Senior Trade Adviser financed by RTFP in SADC Secretariat has taught modules of the course so that the students can benefit from his 'hands-on' experience in the EPA negotiations.