EAC Trade and Investment report 2016: linking EAC to the global economy

Abstract

The annual EAC Trade and Investment Report is a critical tool to facilitate informed decision making by Partner States and other stakeholders on trade and investment matters in the East Africa Community and strategies to unleash the region's growth potential.

The Trade and Investment Report 2016, prepared in collaboration with Partner States, highlights the achievements, challenges and trends in Trade and Investment in the region. This Report shows that the key milestone achieved in 2016 was the admission of the Republic of South Sudan as the sixth member of the Community in September 2016. The EAC Secretariat has since drawn a clear road-map for integration of the Republic of South Sudan in all EAC projects and programmes.

In 2016, the EAC Secretariat and Partner States continued to consolidate the achievements of the Single Customs Territory (SCT) by widening its scope. Coverage of goods cleared was expanded to include all intra-regional trade to facilitate free movement of goods within the Community. Eliminating duplication of customs processes resulted in drastic reduction of the period taken to clear and transport goods in the Central and Northern corridors.

Partner States have also constructed infrastructure at the borders and ports to improve the amenities and facilitate trade in the region. The Partner States and the Secretariat with support from the Development Partners planned to construct 15 One-Stop Border Posts in the EAC region, out of which, 13 have so far been completed and 10 of these are already operational. During the period under review, the EAC Secretariat continued to play its role of coordinating trade negotiations between Partner States and the Third Parties, particularly the European Union –East African Community Economic Partnership Agreements (EU-EAC EPAs), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa-East African Community-Southern African Development Community (COMESA-EAC-SADC) Tripartite Agreement, Continental Free Trade Area as well as the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) and the East African Community-United States Investment Partnership Agreement.