eBusiness Weekly
HARARE – Zimbabwe will initially eliminate tariffs on 85 percent of its goods when it ratifies the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and move to the 90 percent benchmark after 15 years, a Cabinet Minister has said.
The AfCFTA, which Zimbabwe signed early this year, commits African countries to removing tariffs on 90 percent of their goods, with 10 percent of “sensitive items” to be phased in later.
The ambitious plan, which seeks to boost intra-African trade, also aims at liberalising services to tackle non-tariff barriers which hamper trade between African countries, such as border delays.
Industry, Commerce and Enterprise Development Minister Mike Bimha said Zimbabwe would soon begin the ratification process after it, along with seven other countries, was allowed to start at a lower threshold.
He said Zimbabwe was backed by countries including Djibouti, Malawi, Zambia and Madagascar in arguing for a lower initial threshold.
“These are the countries that expressed a reservation in the level of entering the African Continental Free Trade Area. There was an agreement that the threshold for liberalisation should be 90 percent, what it means is that 90 percent of your products must be liberalised,” he said in a recent interview.
“The argument advanced by Zimbabwe and these other six countries was to say we are already liberalising in Comesa, in Sadc at the level of 80 percent and therefore we do not believe it is right for us to have an ambition of 90 percent on the AfCFTA, it will be better for us to start at the same level so that we have a uniform approach to our liberalisation.”
He added: “This was a contentious issue because other countries were saying we must start at 90 percent but we are happy that there has now been a consensus that these seven countries must be allowed to start an 85 percent threshold and move to the 90 percent at the expiry of 15 years.”
Bimha said government would consult the private sector on the development.
“We still have to consult with the private sector, we have to consult with the Ministry of Finance to find how we move from 85 to 90,” he said.
The AfCFTA is a flagship project of the AU Agenda 2063, the long-term vision for an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa.
Once ratified by all AU member states, the ambitious agreement will make the AfCFTA the largest free trade area created since the formation of the World Trade Organisation.
AfCFTA could create an African market of over 1.2 billion people with a Gross Domestic Product of $2.5 trillion. – New Ziana
