| As negotiations on tariff
reduction schedules come to a close, the focus is increasingly shifting to the
establishment of an effective institutional framework for implementation of the SADC Trade
Protocol. SADC member states are reportedly finalising their
tariff schedules and are expected to submit them to trade ministers in July. A
breakthrough has been made with the downlisting by most countries of textiles and clothing
from the list of sensitive products to the gradual reduction category.
According to trade officials, outstanding issues remain on
technical areas of implementation relating to rules of origin – local content of
imports and exports. These technical issues are, however, expected to be thrashed out at
the next meeting of the trade negotiations forum scheduled for Gaborone, Botswana.
Through the Trade Protocol, SADC intends to establish a free trade
area. The target date for tariff reduction was set for January 2000, and the process is
expected to take up to eight years.
The ratification of the SADC Trade Protocol is a pre-condition for
its implementation. By June this year, only five countries had ratified – Botswana,
Mauritius, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Other member states are in the process of doing
so.
Some of the issues cited as hindering the ratification process
relate to:
- The viability of Small and Medium Enterprises which are endangered in the absence, or
inadequacy, of effective regional policy measures in the Trade Protocol that guarantee
their survival. It is therefore recommended that technical assistance be sought to
undertake impact studies and develop measures for SMEs for incorporation in the protocol.
- The business community which lacks adequate knowledge about provisions of the protocol,
and as such greater awareness is needed, possibly by way of a guideline information
manual.
A committee of four SADC countries set up two years ago to
deliberate on the institutional needs for the implementation of the protocol, has had two
meetings so far. Its second, recent meeting was in Lusaka, Zambia, in June. The meeting
deliberated on a report compiled by a consultant appointed to inform the committee on the
best institutional mechanism for implementation of the protocol. |
There was general consensus
at the Lusaka meeting that the free trade area should substantially include all trade and
that the list of sensitive products be kept small. The committtee made a number of
observations and recommendations that will be taken to the Committee of Senior Officials
for consideration and onward submission to the Committtee of Ministers of Trade.
At present, the SADC Industry and Trade Coordination Division (SITCD), which falls
under the civil service of the Tanzanian government, is the only institution in place to
coordinate the implementaion of the Trade Protocol. However, according to the consultancy
report, SITCD is structurally constrained and therefore needs to be strengthened, an
observation admitted by the Committee of Four.
The trade protocol states that the sector coordinating unit shall:
- Coordinate the day-to-day operations in the implementation of the protocol;
- Provide technical and administrative assistance to the Council of Ministers of Trade,
the Committee of Senior Officials and the Trade Negotiation Forum;
- Provide assistance to subsidiary committees, sub-committees and panels established to
implement the protocol;
- Work closely with the private sector; and
- Identify research needs and priorities in the trade area.
However, the Committee of Four observed that these provisions are inadequate for the
effective implementation of the protocol for reasons that include lack of resources on the
part of SITCD.
It was also recommended that the trade portfolio be separated from
the Industry and Trade Coordinatinng Unit to allow for the creation of a mechanism of
implementation which will be regional in character.
This would also “allow the unit to be impartial in carrying
out its arbitration functions”. SITCD without the trade portifolio will remain as the
Industry Sector Coordinating Unit. |
“Tanzania shall remain
responsible for the overall coordination of the policy aspects of both trade and industry
matters,” says the committtee report. For much more
effective and efficient implementation of the SADC Trade Protocol, the Committee of Four
recommended the setting up of a Trade Implementation Unit. The unit, according the
committee report would work closely with the Trade Facilitation and Customs Committees,
the Trade Negotiation Forum and the SADC Secretariat as well as other relevant SADC
institutions, and the Industry Sector Coordinating Unit.
The Trade Implementation Unit, if approved, would among other
issues, fulfill what were previously envisaged as responsibilities of the current sector
coordinating unit.
In addition, the unit would:
- Prepare annual schedule of meetings in close consultation and coordination with the
Industry Sector Coordinating Unit;
- Collect, prepare, circulate papers, documents and any other information which may be
required to facilitate the implementation of the protocol;
- Perform any other secretarial and administrative duties related to implementation of the
protocol and other trade-related matters;
- Assisting national trade an customs agencies/institutions in computerisation and
establishment of interactive trade data and information systems; and
- Establishment and maintenance of a documentation centre/unit for trade-related
publications, documents, agreements and legislation.
While the Trade Implementation Unit can only play a facilitating role, the primary
responsibility for implementation of the trade protocol, will however, fall on the memeber
states themselves.
Note: The SADC Committee of Four comprising
Mauritius, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia was formed by a decision of the special SADC
Industry and Trade Ministers Committee held in Da-es-Salaam on 18 August 1997.
The Committee was formed to consider and propose an effective and efficient regional
institutional arrangement for the implementation of the Trade Protocol.
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