Posted on March, 8, 2019 at 09:01 am
The East African Community partner states have resumed negotiations on comprehensive review of common external tariffs (CET).
The member states had taken time off to finalize their national positions. Officials from the partner states met in Kigali to agree on a regional position that should lead to a new CET regime.
The heads of state tasked the committee of experts to work out the sticky issues on how goods imported into the region will be taxed, amid divergent national proposals that have threatened to derail the review. The meeting came after the February 1 EAC Heads of State Summit held in Arusha, Tanzania where the council of ministers was asked to review to support growth of local industry.
However, despite a consensus on the need to review the CET, disagreements on the Tariff structure, exemptionsor stay of application and how to treat sensitive goods, which have been at the centre of regional trade disputes, still came up at the Kigali Meeting. Each partner state has developed a national position and these are being discussed.
According to the East African Uganda and Kenya went to Kigali meeting with Hard-line positions. Kenya wants the current CET regime that comprises a triple band reviewed to make it a fourband structure, a proposal that Uganda is opposed to. It argues that the three band structure does not encourage backward and forward linkages in value addition to products, thus curtailing the growth of manufacturing sector.
There have been trade disputes with different countries slapping Excise Duty of as much as 25% to stop entry of such goods.
Source: Daily Monitor | Thursday March 7, 2019 | Page 33