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- EAC intra-trade crossed $10 billion in 2022, against $9.5 billion in 2021, despite the Covid-19 outbreak and is poised to hit $15 billion in 2023, according to the East African Business Council (EABC) chairperson, Ms. Angelina Ngalula.
EAC intra-trade crossed $10 billion in 2022, against $9.5 billion in 2021, despite the Covid-19 outbreak and is poised to hit $15 billion in 2023, according to the East African Business Council (EABC) chairperson, Ms. Angelina Ngalula. The EAC trade value reached $10.17 billion by September 2022, accounting for a 20 percent share of intra-trade to global trade. According to Official statistics, the EAC’s total trade with the rest of the world stood at $62 billion in the period under review.
The chairperson pointed out that the collective political goodwill demonstrated by the leaders of the EAC partner nations contributed to the growth. She added that political goodwill and cooperation by member countries saw the elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) impeding intra-regional trade such as the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions and admission of the DRC Congo into the EAC, boosting the intra-regional-trade.
Ms Ngalula said that the EAC Heads of State Summit this year will focus on improving food security, promoting the integration of regional supply chains, eliminating non-tariff barriers, restrictions to facilitate free movement of services, removing double taxation, promoting open skies, strengthening telecommunications, and infrastructure development to enhance business expansion across EAC borders.
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https://trendsnafrica.com/eac-finalises-list-of-goods-for-tariff-removal/
Some of the achievements in 2022 she said, included pre-heads of state summit consultation and presentation of memoranda of private sector policy priorities to the EAC Council of Ministers during the high-level summit on Common Market Protocol. EAC Council of Ministers on Common Market Protocol adopted seven out of 10 EABC policy priorities. Another milestone was the adoption of 35 percent as the fourth band of the EAC Common External Tariff (CET) by the EAC Partner States. To protect local production and promote regional industrialisation since July 1, 2022, imports of goods such as meat, furniture, and textiles from non-EAC countries, have been attracting a tariff of 35 percent.
