By Jared Reynolds, MA Candidate at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and Intern with the Council's Global Food and Agriculture Program

Many African states face challenges to achieving economic development, in part due to poor access to import and export markets. This lack of access exists for many reasons, including poor infrastructure, restrictive trade policies, low economic diversification, and excessive Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs). And, unfortunately, barriers like this hamper agricultural trade—a lost source of market access and income for millions of small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs.

Tariffs used to be the main roadblock to increasing trade, but it’s estimated that today, NTMs are responsible for between 60-90 percent of trade costs between African countries. NTMs include trade barriers like long wait times at border and police checkpoints, excessive or complex regulations for the purpose of restricting imports, corruption, import quotas, and visa and documentation requirements. A survey of transport drivers within the East African Community (EAC) by Transparency International found that the average driver paid almost $13,000 in bribes each month and waited 68 hours at most customs stations on the Kenya-Tanzania border.

Agricultural producers suffer particularly from NTMs because they often have small profit margins, it’s difficult for small-scale exporters to meet complex and onerous trade requirements, and perishable commodities often cannot survive multi-day border waits and excessive transportation times. NTMs also exacerbate food insecurity by restricting access to agricultural products and result in higher prices by limiting supply. Enhanced regional agricultural trade can reduce such food instability by increasing access to external markets during droughts, periods of low agricultural productivity, and other food insecure times. As such, African states should collaborate to address excessive and burdensome NTMs, dismantle those without a clear purpose, and invest in innovative solutions that streamline trade processes.

Intra-African trade remains low compared to other regional economies in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. It’s estimated that trade between African countries as a percentage of their total trade is 10 percent. This compares to 60 percent among European Union (EU) member states, 50 percent among Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) economies, and 48 percent among North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) members. To address the dearth of intra-African trade, states formed Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to eliminate tariffs and increase trade among regional African economics. Although RECs have been successful in decreasing or eliminating tariffs, they have not been as successful at addressing persistent NTMs.

However, several policies and initiatives are being implemented to address NTMs and reduce trade barriers. TradeMark East Africa, a non-profit organization that supports regional trade initiatives, is funding a number of projects to improve border infrastructure and technology usage in order to increase efficiency and reduce costs and wait times. They fund electronic systems in Rwanda and Uganda that allow import forms to be submitted through a single online submission to multiple trade agencies- reducing the need for multiple in-person office visits. The Ugandan Ministry of Trade estimates that this intervention will decrease trade transaction costs and wait times by 30 percent.

Additionally, to address challenges that countries face in meeting the trade requirements of different regional RECs, The Common Market for East and South Africa (COMESA), The Southern Africa Development Committee (SADC), and the EAC signed the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA). TFTA creates a single free trade zone from Cairo to Cape Town comprised of 625 million individuals. Each REC currently has different import and export policies, documentation requirements, and other regulations that increase trading costs. The goal is that the TFTA will result in more streamlined border processes and document submission and will decrease the prevalence of burdensome NTMs.

One of the initial steps the TFTA took was to implement an online system that allows transporters to file complaints regarding NTMs. The complaint is sent directly to the offending state and the filer is able to track the resolution progress. So far individual state ratification of the agreement has been slow. At this point the system has not resulted in the elimination of any major NTMs and it’s still unclear what impact it will have on regional trade, but it’s a promising move towards greater accountability. The initial goal when creating the eight RECs was to encourage further economic integration and potentially a single African market; TFTA is a step in that direction and provides a blueprint for how larger trade blocs can be formed.

The prevalence of NTMs is one reason that trade within Africa remains below other regional economies such as NAFTA, the EU, and ASEAN. NTMs are a barrier to economic growth and integration and restrict business opportunities. They persist because they protect favored industries, there’s a lack of funding and coordination between countries to improve border infrastructure, and states depend on revenues from fines and fees for general operation and to pay government workers. Increased coordination among African nations to promote regional trade would decrease poverty in areas that desperately need it, improve infrastructure, and provide access to goods and services that aren’t currently available. Many states throughout the continent desperately need an economic boost, and dismantling excessive NTMs is a first step to ensuring this can occur.