NTBs and disputes blamed for the slowdown in trade among East African states
A trader arranges sweets at a factory in Industrial Area, Nairobi. Last year, Tanzania and Uganda imposed a 25 per cent import duty on Kenyan confectionery claiming Kenya had used zero-rated industrial sugar imports to produce them. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL | NMG
East Africa’s intra-regional trade is falling by the day as trade disputes and non-tariff barriers persist, giving way to the creation of new trade alliances by frustrated partner states.
Official data shows that the volume of trade among the East African Community partner states is not high enough, to prevent trading partners such as China and India makin major inroads into the region.
