WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

20 May 2019

(19-3472) Page: 1/156

Trade Policy Review Body Original: English/anglais/inglés 20 and 22 March 2019

TRADE POLICY REVIEW

EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY MINUTES OF THE MEETING Addendum Chairperson: H.E. Mr. Eloi Laorou (Benin)

This document contains the advance written questions and additional questions by WTO Members, and replies provided by EAC member countries.1

Organe d'examen des politiques commerciales 20 et 22 mars 2019

EXAMEN DES POLITIQUES COMMERCIALES

COMMUNAUTÉ DE L'AFRIQUE DE L'EST COMPTE RENDU DE LA RÉUNION Addendum Président: S.E. M. Eloi Laorou (Bénin)

Le présent document contient les questions écrites communiquées à l'avance par les Membres de l'OMC, leurs questions additionnelles, et les réponses fournies par les pays membres de la CAE.1

Órgano de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales 20 y 22 de marzo de 2019

EXAMEN DE LAS POLÍTICAS COMERCIALES

COMUNIDAD DE ÁFRICA ORIENTAL ACTA DE LA REUNIÓN Addendum Presidente: Excmo. Sr. Eloi Laorou (Benin)

En el presente documento figuran las preguntas presentadas anticipadamente por escrito y las preguntas adicionales de los Miembros de la OMC, así como las respuestas facilitadas por los países miembros de la CAO.1

1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

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Contents REPLIES COMPILED BY THE EAC SECRETARIAT ...... 3 ICELAND ...... 3 UNITED STATES ...... 13 THAILAND ...... 31 CHINA ...... 33 UKRAINE ...... 35 COLOMBIA ...... 48 ARGENTINA ...... 52 BRAZIL ...... 53 EUROPEAN UNION ...... 54 JAPAN ...... 89 AUSTRALIA ...... 90 INDONESIA ...... 100 KOREA, REP. OF ...... 103 TURKEY ...... 105 CHINA (follow-up questions) ...... 108 EUROPEAN UNION (follow-up questions) ...... 110 UNITED STATES (follow-up questions) ...... 111 REPLIES BY UGANDA ...... 113 ICELAND ...... 113 CANADA ...... 115 UNITED STATES ...... 116 UKRAINE ...... 117 ARGENTINA ...... 120 EUROPEAN UNION ...... 121 JAPAN ...... 125 AUSTRALIA ...... 126 THAILAND ...... 127 KOREA, REP. OF ...... 128 TURKEY ...... 129 REPLIES BY TANZANIA ...... 130 REPLIES BY KENYA ...... 151 UNITED STATES ...... 151 EUROPEAN UNION ...... 153 TURKEY ...... 154 CHINA ...... 154

REPLIES COMPILED BY THE EAC SECRETARIAT

WTO Member Questions Responses ICELAND The report of the East African Community highlight gender equality The Constitution of Republic of Rwanda of 2003 revised in 2015 enshrines the as one of the emphasis of Rwanda's guiding policy document, principle of Gender equality and women's rights and provides the minimum Vision 2020 which now is being developed for providing the vision 30% quota for women in all decision-making positions. All Rwandans are born for 2050. Rwanda is a champion for gender equality, so Iceland and remain equal in rights and freedoms. Any form of discrimination is would like to ask Rwanda to inform if there are particular projects prohibited and punishable by law. aimed at women's economic empowerment and increasing women's participation in trade. If so, could Rwanda provide The table below shows example of women in Leadership, Politics and Decision- information on the content of the projects, the results so far and Making Gender Indicators in Rwanda. what have been the lessons learned in Rwanda? Indicator Total Female (%) Male (%) Quantitative Indicators Proportion of seats held by 80 61.3 39.7 women in national Parliament Proportion of women in 26 50 50

government ministerial positions WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Proportion of women in Local District 45.2 54.8 Government Councils members

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In addition to the above indicators, all conditions relating to conducting trade

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in Rwanda are conducive to both men and women. The following examples illustrates the equal rights that are being exercised in doing businesses in Rwanda: • Starting Business: cost & time for staring business in Rwanda are

the same; • Registering property: Rwanda men and women have equal ownership right to property; • Enforcing contracts: a woman's testimony in court carries the same evidentiary weight in court as men. Iceland would like to ask all of the EAC countries the following Women constitute over 60% of the EAC population. questions: What is the participation of women in the economy in the EAC The participation of Women in the EAC economies is guided by the countries? commitments at the international and regional levels. • At the International level, all EAC Partner States have ratified the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) and the protocol to the African Charter on the human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) • At the regional level the EAC has enacted a Gender Equality and Development Bill (2018) and the EAC Treaty also provides for mainstreaming of gender in all aspects of the community in addition to developing policies and programmes to promote gender equality.

WTO Member Questions Responses • National level all EAC Partner States recognise non-discrimination and gender equality in their constitutions and recognise gender issues in national development strategies. Some of the EAC Partner States have already mainstreamed gender in their trade programmes through establishing gender desks at the Ministries/Departments responsible for Trade matters and undertaken gender-related capacity-building mechanisms. • In regard to trade policy, Kenya (2017), Rwanda (2010) and Tanzania (2003) make reference to gender in their national trade policy documents, while Uganda's export development strategy includes gender considerations.

The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report posts a good picture of the participation of some EAC Partner States in their respective economies.

Kenya: Kenya's socio-economic development frameworks provide mechanisms for

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 gender inclusivity. There are specific iniatives geared towards enhancing the participation of women in the economy. These include affirmative action fund such as Women Enterprise Fund, Uwezo Fund and 30% access to goverment procurement opportunities by women and Youth.This iniatives are meant to

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encourage women entrepreneurship. 4

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Tanzania: Tanzania has been at the forefront of creating a Positive Legal Framework and Political Context for Gender Equality. Women's important contribution to economic activity in Tanzania is well recognized. In the 2018 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap report Tanzania was ranked number 72 globally, out of 149 countries, in terms of women's economic participation. Both government and civil society articulate the importance of gender equality, and numerous policies and strategies identify the need for continued progress. As part of its commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially MDG 3, relating to promote gender equality and empowerment women.

Tanzania Five Year Development Plan has recognized economic empowerment for women as one of the important factors for rapid social and economic development in the country. In addition Tanzania has developed National Strategy for Gender Development which spells out various strategies for gender development including women economic empowerment in the country.

Rwanda: Women are the most active traders along Rwanda's borders (74% of traders). High Cost and time of crossing the border ✓ Ineffective border cooperation;

WTO Member Questions Responses ✓ inadequate or unsuitable infrastructure which is not designed to cross border trade opportunities; lack of information, skills ✓ Finance/ Access to Finance which would not allow women traders to better realize opportunities in neighboring countries Poor Market and Transport Infrastructure and inadequate storage facilities

Uganda: Women are key economic actors in Uganda's trade and agricultural production. They account for 51 per cent of the entire population, constitute 39% of the gender wage gap in the private sector employment and hold 35% of women parliamentary seats. The MasterCard Index of Women's Entrepreneurship (MIWE) report released in March 2018 noted that Uganda has the most entrepreneurial women in the world. The report revealed that 34.8 percent of businesses in Uganda are owned by women, making it the top performing country in the world. The Government of Uganda has made significant social and economic progress in the last two decades, in ensuring women empowerment and gender

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 equality. The Government Commitment has translated in the establishment of national gender mechanisms and revision of its legal and policy framework to address gender inequality and violations of women's rights. Women Socio- economic empowerment is recognised in the Constitution, the National

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Development Plan 1&2, the national sector policies and strategies. Support to 5

women cross border traders under the simplified trade regime and cross -

border trade Association. So far, 18 border markets constructed facilitate women engaged in cross border trade. In partnership with EASSI, Government has established a common facility which provides women with information on trade and supports them in value addition, including offering various services of sorting, weighing, packaging and branding of products. Have particular barriers that limit women's participation in trade Women in the EAC face important constraints: been identified? • Limited gender-related capacity-building mechanisms (such as entrepreneurship and business training, skill development and access to finance, etc.) • Limited access to market information and opportunities by women's associations and cooperatives. • Inadequate development assistance programmes specifically designed so that they could reach small entrepreneurs, many of whom are women, in value chains. • Non-Tariff Barriers faced by small cross border traders the majority of who are women. Kenya: Yes. Limited access to capital, inadequate entrepreneurial skills and training, rapid technological changes

WTO Member Questions Responses

Rwanda: There are on-going activities to address the barriers above conducted by both the Government and non-state actors. - Bilateral engagement with neighbouring countries to promote trade - Create a stronger market links between producers and markets by: increasing information available to small producers on export opportunities - Improving infrastructure and security at the border - Enhance access to information through establishment of Trade Portal and Trade Information Desks at the main borders - Extension of border working hours - greater access to finance that would allow small traders to trade in higher volumes and increase their profitability

- Full implementation of COMESA/EAC Simplified Trade Regime (STR) WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

Uganda: The Government of Uganda has identified barriers limiting women

participation and has developed gender sensitive policies, strategies that -

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empower women entrepreneurs and traders. The challenges being addressed

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include; the limited access to affordable trade finance, lack of collateral and economic resources such as land, inadequate business skills, lack of trade information, unpaid burdensome domestic work, and cultural attitudes/stereotype that attract women in low paid jobs, including gender

roles for girls and women that disadvantage their potential to engage in meaningful economic activities. Have particular measures been put in place to encourage women's EAC Partner States have introduced various gender frameworks to encourage participation in trade and to promote women's entrepreneurship, women's participation in trade and to promote women's entrepreneurship. or are such measures being developed? Country level programmes and associations have been initiated to support women's participation under trade reforms. Major examples include Burundi's Association of women in business, Kenya's women enterprise fund, Rwanda's chamber of women enterprises, the United Republic of Tanzania's women entrepreneurship development programme and Uganda's Women entrepreneurship programme.

At regional level, the EAC is implementing the Simplified Trade Regime (STR) which is a special trade policy provision which carves out specific provisions for small cross border traders by separating them from the mainstream high- valued transaction clearances and allowing the application of simpler customs clearance requirements. The majority of the small cross border traders are women.

WTO Member Questions Responses

The benefits of the STR include: simplification of processes for both the traders and the customs officials for crossing borders with goods; better knowledge by the traders about their rights resulting in a reduction of bribes to border officials and a reduction in the cases of smuggling goods across borders; payment of the correct amount of duties (tax); reduction of reported cases of harassment, seizure and loss of goods; reduction in the cost and time of clearing goods which has improved ICBT competitiveness, resulting in higher profit margins; boosting of trade flows especially agricultural products thus enhancing food security and better collection of statistical information of the goods.

Kenya has initiated several funding scheme such as: Women enterprise fund, National Goverment affirmative action fund, ,Youth Enterprise Development Fund,Uweso Fund and 30% access to goverment procurement opportunities by women and Youth.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Uganda has a number of policies and legislation to empower women entrepreneurs and traders. In addition, the Government is providing targeted support to women through the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP), popularly known as the Women Fund aimed at improving access to

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financial services for women and equipping them with skills for enterprise 7

growth, value addition and marketing of their products and services. -

Additional support is needed to uplift women/women cooperatives to trade and export beyond the domestic and regional markets. Other programmes include Operation wealth creation, the Agricultural Insurance scheme that financially support women farmers, traders and entreprenuers. If so, what have been the challenges and best practices of the The main challenges for all EAC Partner States include the following; programmes? What have been the results so far? • Traditional patriarchal attitudes that are dominant particularly in rural areas against gender equality despite the commitments made by Partner States. • Limited reach of EAC gender targeted programmes.

The efforts being undertaken to address challenges include; • Increasing programme funding to gender related programmes at the national and regional levels. • Extensive outreach programmes, enhanced collaboration with relevant agencies and civil society on implementation of gender specific programmes. • Other planned measures include introduction of regional funds as a leverage effect, build platforms for peer learning and monitor actions taken by members toward gender equality.

Programme: Cross-Border Trade Facilitation

WTO Member Questions Responses Results: - Sensitization training for border officials on Cross-Border Trade and how to facilitate the trade - Bilateral - Actively engage with neighbours on CBT issues, specifically to improve conditions for traders and enhance CBT; - Regional - Encourage and support regional initiatives through the EAC, COMESA and the CEPGL to improve conditions and simplify procedures for CBT; - Creating stronger market links in the informal sector; - Construction of CBM infrastructure that meets the needs of informal traders and can accommodate high volumes of trade at strategic border crossings; - Supporting small traders, organize, scale up and formalize; - Access to finance; - One-Stop Border Posts. WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

Kenya: Challenges: inadequate awareness, low uptake of the funds.

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Best Practices:

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Use of mobile phones to reduce transactions costs and deepen

- outreach/financial inclusion, Creation of targeted funds to enhance women participation in the economy.

Results:

Increased access to credit, increased investments in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), increased employment,Entrepreneurial skills development, and Enhanced household incomes and expenditures.

Uganda:

The UWEP Programme and other Government targeted programmes have held a number of symposiums for financiers and trainings for women SMEs on inclusive finance. These Programmes have elevated the uptake of financial services from SMEs. Awareness programmes for women traders and entrepreneur have been undertaken. However, the programmes and other financial initiatives are confronted with the need to develop accessible, affordable and reliable financial products that take into account the different business segments. For instance, medium and large enterprises have business experience and credit worthiness and so can afford to access loans with substantial collateral. On the other hand, micro and small enterprises do not have collateral to access financial support. This inability hinders their business ventures and growth.

WTO Member Questions Responses Are the effects of trade policy on women and men measured and The EAC Gender Equality and Development, Bill 2016 provides the legal monitored? If so, how? framework for collection and reporting of authoritative data that can be used to hold EAC partner States accountable on their gender commitments. The Bill also serves as a gender equality barometer, a tool which will include a gender and development index and citizens perceptions. The implementation of such instruments will help in the measurement and monitoring of the effect and impact of the EAC Trade policy on women. Kenya: Kenya's Trade Policy is gender inclusive and aligned to the Constitution of Kenya 2010 which prohibits all forms of discrimination.Currently there is no instrument for measuring and monitoring the effects of trade policy on women and men.We are willing to learn from other WTO Members what they have done in this area to strengthen our future trade policy.

Rwanda: This is measured and monitored in trend towards gender mainstreaming into trade policies

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Uganda: Uganda's Trade Policy constitutes one of the key aspects of economic policy with direct impact on the livelihood of women, men and children. We perceive

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a policy approach that is inclusive of different economic actors in society 9

particularly women who play a major role in economic development through - their support towards various sectors as well as contribution to growth and development of society. There's no mechanism to demonstrate the effects of trade policy on women and men. However, in the future, Uganda would embark on capturing this data and we look forward to learn from other WTO Members.

WTO Member Questions Responses CANADA Summary: paragraph 9, page 6: For Kenya, the Categorization of Trade Facilitation Measures into B and C have been completed and will be notified by July 2019. The Secretariat Report notes that under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda have deposited Uganda is currently undertaking a study to identify the TFA provisions for their instruments of acceptance. All EAC WTO Members have categorization under B and C and once the study is validated at the national notified their Category A commitments. A Regional Trade level, a notification to the WTO will be made. However, further analysis on the Facilitation Sub-Committee was established in 2015 to coordinate necessary financial support for B&C measures is desirable. the implementation of the TFA and other trade facilitation measures decided at the regional level. EAC countries continue to fulfil their notification obligations at various degrees. However, there are several areas where notifications remain outstanding.

When do Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda plan to send their outstanding notifications?

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

ANNEX 1 - BURUNDI Burundi notified the WTO of its customs valuation last week.

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The Secretariat Report notes that Burundi has not notified the Burundi plans to ratify the WTO Agreement on the Trade Facilitation within the 10

WTO of its customs valuation legislation. Burundi has also not yet coming twelve months.

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ratified the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation, but it has notified its Category A measures.

When does Burundi plan to notify its WTO customs valuation legislation? Also, when does Burundi plan to ratify the WTO Agreement on the Trade Facilitation? The Secretariat notes that Burundi's tariff bindings cover 22.4% of This issue of tariffs higher than bound rates at the World Trade Organization all of its tariff lines. All tariff lines for agricultural products (WTO remains very worrying for Burundi and shares this concern with its partners in definition) have been bound at a ceiling of 100%, with the the East African Community as it applies the external tariff of the East African exception of some 6% of lines bound previously at rates ranging Community. Burundi will begin negotiations within the East African Community from 0% to 20%. Only 10% of tariff lines for non-agricultural and will keep the World Trade Organization informed. products have been bound: at 24.2% for textiles and clothing; 20.2% for leather, rubber and footwear; and 11.2% for transport equipment. For 429 lines, the applied rates are higher than the bound rates.

Could Burundi explain why the applied tariffs on the 429 lines are higher than the bound rates? What measures is Burundi planning to take to ensure compliance with its WTO commitments? ANNEX 3 - RWANDA The applied tariffs on 342 CET lines are higher than the bound rates as the result of Rwanda's accession to the EAC. Rwanda joined EAC in 2007, she did not negotiate the CET instead adhered to the Common External Tariff (CET)

WTO Member Questions Responses The Secretariat Report notes that Rwanda has bound 100% of its that was being implemented by the Community. In that case, some tariff lines tariff lines at ad valorem rates ranging from zero to 100% (Main were higher than the bound rates. report, Section 3.1.4). Agriculture tariff lines are bound at up to 80%. The simple average bound rate on agricultural products Apart from a "Computer processing fee" that is paid by each importer and (WTO definition) is 74.6%, whereas the average on non- exporter carrying import and export activities and the fee is commensurate agricultural products is 91.7%. On 342 CET lines (up from 263 in with the cost of services rendered, Rwanda does not charge other duties and 2011), applied rates exceed Rwanda's bindings, in some cases by charges. as much as 60 percentage points. Moreover, Rwanda has bound "other duties and charges" at zero but it applies some. They are no other duties and charges applied.

Could Rwanda explain why the applied tariffs on 342 CET lines are Rwanda considers the challenges/concerns raised by member states and higher than the bound rates? consultations including need for technical assistance to ensure compliance with Rwanda's commitments in its schedules of tariff concessions are ongoing Could Rwanda explain why it applies "other duties and charges" to ensure the concerns can be addressed. while it is bound at zero?

Could Rwanda also describe what the "other duties and charges"

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 are? What measures is Rwanda planning to take to ensure compliance with its WTO commitments?

SINGAPORE The WTO Secretariat Report ("Secretariat Report") notes the EAC The EAC Model Investment Treaty highlights the objective of encouraging and -

Model Investment Treaty was adopted in 2016 with the objective increasing foreign investments that effectively support the sustainable 11

of guiding, and serving as a template for, negotiations. What are development of both parties, particularly the host state party. The main

- the main features of the Model Investment Treaty, and do the EAC features include: National Treatment and MFN, treatment of investors and countries have plans to renegotiate any of their existing bilateral investment, expropriation, Senior Management and Employees, Transfers, investment treaties (BITs) using the new Model Investment investor liability, transparency, right to regulate, right to pursue development Treaty? goals, exceptions, denial of benefits, State-State dispute settlement and an option for investor-state dispute settlement, and final provisions. The Secretariat Report notes that the national customs of each The 5 Customs Administration have three different Customs Systems i.e. EAC member state use different computer systems, which may Asycuda World for Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi. TANCIS for Tanzania and potentially be "a source of delays in cargo clearance, mainly for iCMS or SIMBA for Kenya. To allow faster exchange of information among the transit goods". The Secretariat Report also mentioned that during Customs Administration under the Single Customs Territory, the region agreed the review period, the EAC had taken steps to interconnect their to interconnect/interface the three system whereby each Customs system is systems. The EAC's Trade Review Report (Page 14, Para 5.10), on able to communicate with the other system in the respective Partner State. the other hand, stated that the customs interconnectivity was rolled out in 2013. Could the EAC provide clarity on the current The region has further enhanced the information exchange through the SCT status of the customs connectivity within the EAC and elaborate on centralised platform (Proof of Concept) whereby Partner States push and pull how the differing computer systems of the individual national information relating to customs declarations, manifests, release orders and customs have affected or may affect efficiency of cargo clearance exit notes. The information sharing through the Centralised System is within the EAC? managed by the EAC Secretariat. Annex 1: Burundi First of all, it is not Burundi Investment Promotion Agency that proposes to the Ministry of Finance to grant additional tax and customs concessions for The Burundi Investment Promotion Agency ("API") may propose investment projects, but it is the Ministry that propose that issue. that the Ministry of Finance grant additional tax and customs In order to be granted additional tax, some priority sectors of activity have concessions for investment projects that are "strategic" for been defined as follows:

WTO Member Questions Responses Burundi. Could Burundi provide more details on these "strategic" 1. Agribusiness, water and sanitation, fishing and livestock investment projects, as well as the factors that qualify an 2. Energy and mines investment for the aforesaid concessions? 3. The processing and production industry 4. Modern maritime transport 5. The construction of modern infrastructure in the tourist and energy fields

The eligibility criteria are the following: 1. To be one of the priority sectors 2. To be an innovative project to diversify exports and the transfer of appropriate technologies 3. Have a certificate of eligibility for the benefits of the Investment Code or a certificate of the free zone, issued by the competent authority

The ordinance also defines the specific criteria for each sector of activity Annex 3: Rwanda There are set of requirements/criteria to benefit on Tax holiday which are provided in the Annex 1 of the Law No. 06/2015 of 28/03/2015 relating to What are the "specific conditions" that would qualify a registered investment promotion and facilitation, from page 27 to 36.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 investor for preferential corporate income tax rates, corporate income tax holidays and/or an accelerated depreciation rate for assets?

Annex 4: Tanzania We understand, it's a global practise to have some areas of business -

exclusively reserved to local people. Likewise, in Tanzania, there are some 12

The Secretariat Report notes that "There are a number of other areas of business reserved for local people. For example, foreign investors

- areas where foreign investors may not operate or do business in cannot operate in inland water fishing, trading in ornamental fish business. Tanzania, or where restrictions are prohibitive" and gave the These restrictions are provided for in Fisheries Act No. 22 of 2003. example of the tourism, extractive and fisheries sectors. Could Tanzania elaborate on whether it has plans to expand the list of Regarding the tourism, currently, the most ideal investment area or such sectors or impose new requirements for foreign investors opportunities within the Tourism industry are Beach tourism, Accommodation which would like to operate in these sectors in Tanzania? facilities, Convention Centres and Cruise Terminals. The government of Tanzania has initially set aside guiding laws and regulations regarding the said areas, where interested investors are invited to walk in and invest in whichever area of their interest without prohibition. Among the listed areas of investment as stipulated in the Tourism Act, 2008 Section 21.

However, in Section 58 of the Act, prohibits foreign investors to invest in the following areas: -Mountain Climbing or Trekking, Car Rental or Hire, Travel Agents, Handling Agents and Tour Guide only (Foreigner Tour Guide can be given a permit under special circumstances). Meanwhile, the Government is considering expanding other areas in tourism. The Secretariat Report notes that the telecommunications sector is The Government is currently reviewing its tax laws and outcomes will be designated as a priority sector by the government (Para 2.34), and announced. that the tax exemptions granted to investments in telecommunication firms have been removed (Para 2.35). Could Tanzania elaborate on whether it has plans to remove tax exemptions in the other priority sectors?

WTO Member Questions Responses UNITED Please clarify whether the EAC members intend to reduce their Discussions on renegotiations will be undertaken for those EAC Members STATES CET and applied alternate tariffs on agriculture to below its whose bound rates are below the CET member countries bound tariffs. The Secretariat's Report states that none of the EAC countries has Kenya will provide the notification by July 2019 notified a state trading enterprise to the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises, despite having a biennial requirement to do In the subsequent weeks after the TPR, Uganda is to notify the WTO of state- so. Please identify when each EAC member will make the required trading enterprises within the context of Article XVII:4(a) of GATT 1994. notifications. Please clarify the provisions within the Customs Union Protocol Article 37 (4a) of the Customs Union Protocol states that a Partner State may under which a member may separately negotiate bilateral trade separately conclude or amend a trade agreement with a foreign country agreements, subject to the notification to other members. provided that the terms of such an agreement or amendments are not in conflict with the provisions of the protocol. The paragraph also describes the process whereby a Partner State intends to conclude or amend such an agreement. Generally, concluding FTAs separately would jeopardize the implementation of the CU Protocol. However, Trade cooperation agreements that do not have implications on tariff rates, etc. could be concluded individually, following the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 process in Article 37 para 4. Have any members negotiated bilateral trade agreements with Kenya has not entered into any Bilateral Trade Agreement during the review third-country partners? period

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Uganda has not negotiated any bilateral trade agreement with non-EAC 13

Countries.

- The Secretariat notes that in 2015 the EAC established a Regional Under these fora, respective Partner States report on the implementation Trade Facilitation Sub-Committee to coordinate the status of the various aspects of the implementation of the Agreement and the implementation of the TFA, and that the Sub-Committee reports to pending work. The fora then provide guidance and directives to each Partner the Sectoral Committee on Trade, and subsequently the Sectoral States on the way forward. Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI). The Secretariat also notes that the EAC adopted a regional TFA implementation plan in 2016.

What mechanisms do the Regional Trade Facilitation Sub- Committee, the Sectoral Committee on Trade and SCTIFI utilize to monitor the ratification, notification, and implementation of EAC member countries? How often does the EAC monitor and track the status of TFA implementation in member countries? Is the EAC's TFA implementation plan available to the public? Does Yes, it is publicly available for the members who have notified and restricted this implementation plan include a timeline for full ratification, for members who are yet to notify. notification, and compliance with TFA for all member countries? All plans have time lines. Are there consequences for non-compliance with the EAC's TFA The Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI) implementation plan for member countries? direct Partner States to implement the measures under TFA. Partner States are committed to implement all measures facilitating trade.

WTO Member Questions Responses What is the status of negotiations under the Tripartite FTA? How Phase 1 of the tripartite negotiations on goods was completed in 2015 and the many countries have ratified the agreement? Tripartite Agreement signed by the Tripartite Heads of State and Government in June 2015 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Out of the 26 countries (now 29 because of the recent entry of South Sudan, Somalia and Tunisia), 22 Tripartite Countries have signed the Agreement and four countries have ratified. What is the status of negotiations to conclude tariff schedules and In regard to Tripartite Rules of Origin, an Annex has been negotiated and ROOs? adopted and in addition, 91.5% of the tariff lines have been successfully negotiated and agreed. A draft manual for the implementation of the Annex on Rules of Origin has also been developed. What is the legal effect of Kenya ratifying the EAC-EU EPA if the The EAC-EU EPA cannot enter into force until all the Partner States have other EAC partner states have not ratified the agreement? signed and ratified the Agreement. The Secretariat Report notes that EAC members' national customs Partner States have interfaced their Customs systems to allow data exchange. use different computer systems, but that the EAC has undertaken This has enabled exchange of electronic documents such as manifests, a review period to better connect their systems and facilitate customs declarations, releases, exit notes and arrival notifications among information flow between customs authorities. Similarly, multiple others.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 EAC members are developing single window systems (see Annex 3 The region has embarked on a phased approach for the implementation of the Rwanda, Section 3.1.1, Page 197, Paragraph 3.1; Annex 4 Single Customs Territory Centralized Platform. Tanzania, Page 297, Paragraph 3.3; Annex 5 Uganda, Section

3.1.1, Page 369, Paragraph 3.5) in various stages of development. -

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Does the EAC have a mechanism for how individual members'

- single window systems will interact with each other under EAC management? Will the EAC establish a process for data sharing between these systems? The applied MFN tariff: Partner States are applying same rates as in 2018

Please clarify the rates members are applying to articles of used clothing through stays of application of the CET and if those differ from the 2018 CET rate. WTO Tariff bindings: Kenya is within its tariff bindings in the WTO.

Will the EAC ensure that applied tariffs do not exceed bound tariffs? When can we expect EAC members to initiate Article XXVIII compensation negotiations for any broken tariff bindings? Please confirm whether or not each EAC member is applying a levy or using trade measures to contribute to the African Union peacekeeping initiative. If so, please provide details about these levies and/or trade measures. Tariff preferences: The integrity of CET is maintained despite the commitments under COMESA and SADC FTAs. Section 112 of the EAC Customs Management Act, 2004 is Under the EAC Common External Tariff, how do Burundi, Kenya, the legal basis for providing preferential tariff treatment to goods imported Rwanda, and implement their commitments under the COMESA from SADC and COMESA.

WTO Member Questions Responses FTA while Uganda only applies an 80% reduction in the CET rate to goods originating in other COMESA countries, excluding EAC members?

Is the integrity of the CET maintained in light of different commitments made under the COMESA and SADC FTAs? Contingency measures: In 2004, Tanzania legislated the National Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures Act (2004). Admittedly, the Act could not be implemented due to The Secretariat notes that Kenya is the only EAC country with omissions of some relevant domestic Union (Tanzania and Zanzibar) national legislation on trade remedies. However, in Annex 4 to the requirements. In this regard, the Government has consulted widely and is Secretariat report (see Section 3.1.6; page 275, paragraph 3.32) going to propose to the Parliament to repeal the Act through the due Tanzania states that since 2004 it has specific legislation on processes. Therefore, the expected new Anti-Dumping and Countervailing contingency measures. It appears this legislation was attached to Measures Act shall be notified to the WTO in the due course. the Tanzania TPR at footnote 23. The United States notes that this legislation has not yet been notified to the relevant WTO Committees. Could the Secretariat please clarify whether Tanzania has

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 developed national laws on the administration of trade remedies? If so, when will these laws be notified to the relevant WTO Committees?

The Secretariat report notes that the East African Standards EASC coordinates the development and implementation of SQMT related -

Committee (EASC) takes on a coordinating role for the individual activities in line with the international standards and rules as defined in the 15

national standards bodies and is currently making efforts to WTO TBT Agreement.

- establish a "TBT-SPS Forum." TBT- SPS Forum was proposed to look at the crosscutting TBT /SPS issues affecting trade at the same time enhance EAC participation in the TBT/SPS WTO Committees.

TBT Forum has been established already. Focus is on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures

National consultations still ongoing on the need for a joint TBT/SPS Forum How does the East African Standards Committee ensure that One of the reasons for the establishment of the TBT Forum expected to report national standards bodies are abiding by WTO Technical Barriers to to the EASC Trade (TBT) rules? Could the EASC please provide information on the purpose and As above goals of the TBT-SPS Forum? Do the EAC WTO member countries intend to notify the EAC SPS EAC will notify WTO about the SPS Protocol once it comes to force after protocol or the EAC SPS bill? ratification by all the Partner States.

For EAC-wide measures that impact all member countries, at what The EAC SPS Bill has been developed to enforce implementation of the SPS point in the EAC legislative process are comments received by EAC Protocol. Once the SPS Act is enacted by the East African Legislative members who are also WTO members considered into draft EAC Assembly, WTO will be notified accordingly. measures?

WTO Member Questions Responses Considering that EAC member countries are required to harmonize All EAC members make their contributions during technical and public review. their SPS measures, are all measures normally drafted at the EAC level and then adopted at the country-level, or drafted at the WTO members will be given a chance to make comments before final country level and then harmonized? adoption.

In this process, at what point are measures notified to the WTO by EAC harmonized SPS Measures are developed at regional level and adopted at member countries, and how are WTO member countries' the national level comments incorporated into the final measures? Measures are notified to the WTO while consultations are ongoing at national and regional levels. This will allow comments from WTO members to be incorporated in the documents before final adoption. Please explain why Tanzania has not ratified the SPS Protocol in Tanzania is fully cognizant of the importance of the SPS. Also, we are aware of light of all other EAC members ratifying the protocol. the importance of harmonizing SPS measures within the region.

While mindful to the importance of SPS issues, however, our internal consultation process has taken somehow longer than expected. Partly, this has been due to a large number of stakeholders (in the public and private

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 sector) to be involved before making sound decision. Presently, we are at the final stages (awaits presentation to the Parliament). In that regard, Tanzania hopes to ratify the EAC SPS Protocol in a very near period.

Annex 1 Burundi The inspection fees apply mainly for imported products. For local products, -

only the cost of certification is applied. 16

3.1.1 Customs procedures, valuation and requirements

- Page 72, Paragraph 3.4:

Do these inspection fees also apply to domestic product? The Secretariat Report notes that efforts are underway in Burundi Burundi already applies the one-stop shop for imports. Customs clearance is to establish a single window for international trade, and that a pilot done from the first port of entry. Also, the electronic ticket office system is programme has been in place since May 2013. Burundi also notes being implemented. the lists of the documents required for a customs declaration but notes that customs authorities may ask importers to provide The requested documents are standard. Additional documents or proof are additional supporting documents. required in case of suspicion of undervaluation.

Does Burundi make information regarding the implementation and operation of the single window system pilot programme available to the public?

Could Burundi provide a timeline for when it expects to finalize and implement a permanent single window system?

Could Burundi provide examples of the types of additional supporting documents that customs authorities may ask importers to provide during the customs declaration process? Under what circumstances would authorities ask an importer to provide

WTO Member Questions Responses additional documents outside of the list of documents required for a customs declaration? Burundi has not notified the WTO of its customs valuation Now, Burundi has notified the WTO of its customs valuation. legislation. Nonetheless, in principle, customs valuation is based on Annex 4 of the EAC Customs Code. According to the authorities, Burundi plans to inform the Customs Valuation Committee of its relevant the provisions in question are aligned with those of the WTO legislation very soon. Customs Valuation Agreement.

When does Burundi expect to notify the Committee on Customs Valuation of its relevant legislation? The Secretariat Report notes Burundi has not yet ratified the Trade Burundi intends to ratify the WTO TFA in 12 months. Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Burundi has designated 32.8% of its commitments as Category A under the TFA, with 67.2% of Burundi intends to submit to the WTO the information required by its TFA measures under the Agreement remaining to be categorized as B transparency notifications under Articles 1.4, 10.6.2 and 12.2 within two or C. Three of Burundi's commitments notified as Category A years. under the Agreement, transparency notifications 1.4, 10.6.2, and 12.2, have not been submitted to the WTO.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Could Burundi provide a timeline for when it expects to ratify the WTO TFA? When does Burundi expect to submit information to the WTO

required by its TFA transparency notifications per articles 1.4, -

10.6.2, and 12.2? 17

3.3.2 Standards and other technical regulations Burundi has implemented the inspection procedures adopted by the East

- Page 78, Paragraph 3.55: The programme includes physical African Community at the moment. He has not yet thought of the notification inspection, product testing in accredited laboratories, quality to the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade. Burundi plans to notify control of production processes (where applicable) and it later. documentary review. The programme has not yet been notified to the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.

When will this take place? Is there a plan to notify? Page 82, Paragraph 3.79: Burundi is neither a member or nor an Burundi does not have sufficient information on the WTO on Government observer to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement Procurement. (GPA). Becoming an observer to the GPA would allow Burundi to engage with other countries on matters relating to government procurement and would not require Burundi to take on any obligations.

Will Burundi consider becoming a GPA observer? The Secretariat Report notes that Burundi maintains procurement Public procurement is governed by Law No. 1/04 of 29 January 2018. preferences for goods, works and services from domestic firms. Article 12 of this law is non-discrimination and contains the following provisions: How does Burundi define "domestic" for goods, works, and "Subject to the provisions of Articles 195 to 202 of this Law, the Contracting services? Is it based on the nationality of the firm or through some Authorities shall refrain from any discriminatory measure based on the other method? nationality of the candidates".

WTO Member Questions Responses Does Burundi collect statistics on the country of origin of goods, Articles 195 to 202 speak of preferences. works, and services that it procures? Article 195: Beneficiaries. "In order to favor the participation of national companies, in the awarding of contracts, preference is given to tenders conforming to the bidding documents submitted by a national tendered. The national bidder is any company incorporated under Burundian law and is a tax resident. For the purposes of this Law, "domestic tenderer and tax resident" shall be considered to be the national tenderer in any of the member countries of any regional economic organization to which Burundi is a party. Article 198 quotes "the quantification of preference" as follows: "The preference shall be quantified in the tender invitation as a percentage of the amount of the tender. Such percentage shall in no case exceed 10% for the works and fifteen per cent for the supplies and services. However, there is no place where we define local supplies, works and services. Also, Burundi does not collect statistics on the origin of supplies, works and services of public procurement. The Report notes that Burundi has joined several international Burundi plans to ratify the WIPO internet by 2020.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 treaties, including the Berne Convention and the WIPO Copyright Treaty. Please explain why Burundi has not joined the other WIPO internet

treaty, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. If Burundi -

plans to join the WPPT, please advise as to the timeline for doing 18

so, as well as steps Burundi may plan to take to fully implement

- the WCT and WPPT (together, "Internet Treaties"). Annex 2 Kenya EAC-EU EPA will come into effect when all the EAC partner states will have signed and ratified the agreement. What is the legal effect of Kenya ratifying the EAC-EU EPA if the other EAC partner states have not ratified the agreement? Kenya signed and ratified the agreement to demonstrate its commitment to implement the EPA and to ensure that its trade with EU is not disrupted until Please explain how Kenya maintains its preferential access to the the other EAC partner states sign and ratify. EU market given that the EPA is not in force despite Kenya ratifying the agreement on September 20, 2016. The Secretariat Report notes that any registered business can There is no fee associated with registering business with KRA. The business is import goods for commercial purposes, upon registration with the required to register for value added tax (VAT). Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

Are there any fees associated with a business registering with the KRA? Kenya provides an import declaration form (C17) to traders in Yes, the form is available to the public and accessible to clearing agents or order to submit necessary documents electronically for goods to be individuals licensed by customs on infotrade.go.ke portal. released by Kenyan Customs.

Kenya notes that its import declaration form C17 is necessary to submit documents electronically. Is this form available to the public on the Internet?

WTO Member Questions Responses Kenya indicates that customs procedures are carried out by either Yes. Licensing of customs clearing agents is provided for under part agents who can operate nationwide only, or those who can operate X1(Section 145) of the EACCMA-2004. Kenya publishes the licensing in any other EAC county. requirements in the dailies, the KRA website, and broadcast on the Simba System. Does Kenya publish the process for granting licenses and becoming a national-level customs clearing agent? Clearing agents are registered by KRA and sensitize on their requirements as national wide or EAC wide clearance agents. Kenya notes most customs declarations are processed through the iCMS will be rolled out in June 2019 2005 SIMBA system, and that a new system, the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS), was introduced in 2017, but Use of any custom system is free of charge. However, customs agents are is still limited to air cargo clearance. required to pay an annual licensing fee of USD 400. This fee is published together with the requirements mention in above. Could Kenya provide a timeline for when the iCMS will be fully operational? No fees are charged to traders for using Electronic Single Window System

Does Kenya charge different fees associated with use of the 2005 Yes, this information is public information and is shared during stakeholder SIMBA system and the iCMS, and how are the fees-for-service forums and Port Community Charter meetings. This information is shared with

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 determined with each system? Are those fees published online? all players in the logistics chain during the quarterly Port Community Charter How do these fees relate actual services rendered? meetings. The Secretariat Report notes that since July 2015, all import and A number of Government Agencies have made commitments and signed

export related documents have been processed though the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) committing to specific timelines and -

TradeNet System, a Single Window System and that there is a KenTrade provides statistics showing the extent to which the Government 19

progressive programme in place to bring additional stakeholders Agencies are adhering to the timelines

- under the system. Kenya also notes that a separate portal for processing import and export health certificates has contributed to reducing processing time of health permits from six days to 12 hours on average.

Does Kenya charge a fee associated with traders' use of the TradeNet System portal? If so, are those associated fees published online?

Is Kenya's progressive plan to bring additional stakeholders under the Single Window System available to the public?

Will Kenya make publicly available any data regarding changes in the processing times for import and export related documents since the implementation of the TradeNet System? The Secretariat Report notes that with Kenya's ratification of the The categorization of Trade Facilitation Measures into B and C have been Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in 2015, Kenya notified 7.1% completed and will be notified by July 2019. of its measures as Category A. Under the TFA, Kenya will still need to notify 92.9% of remaining measures as Category B or C. Two of This also applies to Category A Measures 1.4 and 10.6.2 Kenya's commitments notified as Category A under the Agreement, transparency notifications 1.4 and 10.6.2, have not been submitted to the WTO, to provide traders with the online

WTO Member Questions Responses locations of Kenya's information on customs procedures and processes and the use of customs brokers.

Could Kenya provide a timeline for notifying its remaining Category B and C commitments under the TFA?

Could Kenya provide a timeline for when it will submit information related to its transparency notifications 1.4 and 10.6.2 to the WTO? 3.1.2 Customs Valuation The KRA valuation database is an internal tool to help guide Customs on valuation matters. This is purely a risk management tool. KRA maintains a database of reference values constituted from previously accepted transactions. The database is used only for This database is not accessible by external users. The values in the database risk management purposes, according to the authorities. are only referred to where Customs Value cannot be determined by method 1 (Transaction Value). Can Kenya please elaborate on the circumstances for when a customs agent would use the reference price database for risk Database values only act as a guide, during arbitration, where a dispute about

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 management purposes? the declared value has arisen between the Agent and Customs; they are not necessarily applied as they are. Determination of Customs value is done according to the WTO GATT, which

has been incorporated into the EACCMA-2004 (Fourth Schedule); Traders are -

expected to declare price paid or payable for goods. 20

3.1.4 Tariffs Kenya has not notified such suspensions to the WTO.

- Page 130, Paragraph 3.23: Are such suspensions notified to the WTO and, if so, how far in advance? Page 130, Paragraph 3.24: Please explain if Kenya, through its Tanzania does not provide preferential tariff rates for products from COMESA commitments under the COMESA FTA, applies different rates of members. Similarly, Kenya and other EAC COMESA partner states do not duty on products originating from COMESA members than provide preferential tariff rates for products from SADC where Tanzania is a Tanzania applies to those same goods originating from COMESA member. To prevent re-export within EAC, the EAC rules of origin applies. members. 3.1.6 Import prohibitions, restrictions, and licensing The regulatory authorities are still consulting and will provide guidance when they are satisfied with the scientific facts on the use of medically important Since 2017, the FDA Guidance for Industry #213 prohibits the use antimicrobials for growth promotion of medically important antimicrobials for growth promotion.

Can the East African Community provide the scientific basis for such restriction on U.S. meat and meat products? 3.1.7 Anti-dumping, countervailing, and safeguard measures Kenya is in the process of establishing the Kenya Trade Remedies Agency and will notify the WTO when the agency is operational. Kenya notes that the Trade Remedies Act of 2017 provides for the establishment of the Kenya Trade Remedies Agency (KETRA) as the national authority responsible for investigating and evaluating allegations of dumped or subsidized imports, and requests for the application of safeguard measures. The United States notes that

WTO Member Questions Responses the Kenya Trade Remedies Act of 2017 was published in the Kenya Gazette in August 2017 but has not yet been notified to the WTO Committees on antidumping, subsidies and countervailing measures, safeguards.

When does Kenya plan to notify this legislation to the relevant WTO Committees? 3.3.5 State trading, state-owned enterprises, and privatization The SOEs that are exclusively owned by the state are 204 while those that are majority-owned by the state are 8. Of Kenya's state-owned enterprises (SOEs), please identify how many are owned exclusively by the state. How many are majority- owned by the state? Does the Kenya National Trading Corporation Limited (KNTC) have KNTC has no exclusive rights related to any product. Does not have special exclusive rights related to any products in its portfolio, including rights conferred by the state, and it is fully owned by the state. the products listed in this paragraph? Does KNTC have any special rights conferred by the state? Is KNTC wholly-owned or majority- owned by the state?

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Please describe the key provisions of the Government Owned The bill has not been enacted. Entities Bill of 2015. Was the bill enacted in 2015? Does it apply to all SOEs with a presence in Kenya, or only to Kenyan SOEs? If this

law is enacted, why does Paragraph 3.94 state there is no -

overarching legal framework for the establishment and regulation 21

of SOEs in Kenya?

- Page 142, Paragraph 3.95: When was Mwongozo adopted? Please provide a weblink to It was adopted in March 2015 and can be accessed at: www.scac.go.ke/2015- Mwongozo and describe the key elements of this code of 02-16-09-56-36/mwongozo governance for SOEs. Does the code apply to all SOEs with a presence in Kenya, or only to Kenyan SOEs? The key element of this code is to improve corporate governance of SOEs (effectiveness of boards, transparency and disclosure, accountability, risk management, internal controls, ethical leadership, and good corporate citizenship).

The code only applies to Kenyan state-owned enterprises. Page 142, Paragraphs 3.93 to 3.95: Foreign SOEs are foreign investments and would be governed in the Kenya Which laws and other legal authorities in Kenya regulate the Investment Promotion Act 2004, and the Companies Act of 2015 activities of foreign SOEs with a presence in Kenya? 3.3.6 Government Procurement Kenya has not considered but may explore the possibility of becoming a GPA Page 143, Paragraph 3.104: Kenya is neither a member or nor an observer. observer to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). Becoming an observer to the GPA would allow Kenya to engage with other countries on matters relating to government procurement and would not require Kenya to take on any obligations.

Will Kenya consider becoming a GPA observer?

WTO Member Questions Responses The Secretariat Report notes that Kenya maintains a number of Goods produced in Kenya irrespective of nationality, while works and services different procurement preferences for domestic goods, works, and as specified in Paragraph 3.109-110. services, including price preferences and reservations for local goods and services. Kenya collects statistics on the country of origin of goods, works, and services that it procures How does Kenya define "domestic" for goods, works, and services? Is it based on the nationality of the firm or through some other method?

Does Kenya collect statistics on the country of origin of goods, works, and services that it procures? 3.3.7 Intellectual property rights Music Copyright Society of Kenya's (MCSK) licence for the year 2017 and 2018 was not renewed. The license to collect royalties for authors and publishers of The Report states that there "has been no major change" to musical works for the year 2017 and 2018 was issued to Music Publishers Kenya's IPR regime since 2012. However, since 2012, there have Association of Kenya (MPAKE). The decision to issue a license for authors and been issues regarding collective management organizations (CMO) publishers of musical works CMO for the year 2019 was deferred by the Board in Kenya; in fact, the main copyright CMO had its license revoked last year. The 2019 license for this class has not been issued. The term of the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 by KECOBO (the Kenya Copyrights Board). previous Board expired in September last year and new members are yet to be appointed. Please provide an update on the current status regarding the

management and administration of CMOs in Kenya. -

4.1.2 Agricultural policy The ban has not been repealed and domestic consultations are still ongoing. 22

Page 150, Paragraph 4.20: the TPR states that Kenya's 2012 ban

- on the importation of genetically engineered (GE) foods was repealed in 2015. However, to our knowledge the ban is still in place and imports of GE food and feed products have not been allowed into Kenya since 2012, despite having a functioning biosafety framework to conduct science-based risk assessments of GE products to assure their safety.

Can Kenya/EAC provide details of the 2015 repeal of the GE import ban? Annex 3 Rwanda The use of the RESW system is free of charge.

3.1.1 Customs procedures, valuation, and requirements

The Secretariat Report notes that Rwanda's Electronic Single Window (RESW) was rolled out in 2013 and has achieved greater integration with 31 Rwandan ministries and agencies as of 2018. The United States notes that Rwanda designated Article 10.4 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), Single Window, as a Category B commitment. However, with Rwanda's progress in establishing the RESW system, it may be able to meet this requirement prior to its indicative date of completion of March 31, 2020.

WTO Member Questions Responses

Does Rwanda charge a fee for traders' use of the RESW system? If so, is this fee published online? Page 197, Paragraph 3.5: According to the Secretariat Report, • All trade related information is on Rwanda Trade information Portal Rwanda ratified the TFA on 22 February 2017. The United States (import, export and transit procedures) embedded on 10 partner notes that according to the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement websites as follows: Database, Rwanda has successfully notified all articles under • Private Sector Federation: http://psf.org.rw/ Section 1 of the TFA as Categories A, B, and C. Under the TFA, • Rwanda Revenue Authority: http://rra.gov.rw Rwanda is overdue in submitting information to the WTO on its • Electronic Single Window: http://sw.gov.rw transparency notification 1.4 (include original deadline?), and it • Rwanda Development Board: http://rdb.rw needs to submit an indicative date for completion of measure • National Agricultural and Export Board: 10.6.2 with technical assistance. http://naeb.gov.rw/index.php?id=1 • Ministry of Health: http://moh.gov.rw/index.php?id=253 Rwanda has designated TFA article 1.4 as a Category A • Rwanda Standards Board: http://rsb.gov.rw/quick- commitment. Could Rwanda provide a timeline for submitting to nav/home.html the WTO the information on locations of its customs processes and • Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International cooperation and procedures required under Article 1.4? EAC: http://www.minaffet.gov.rw/home/

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 • Rwanda Freight Forwarders Association (RWAFFA): http://adrwanda.com/ • Ministry of Trade and Industry: http://minicom.gov.rw

-

All the above information on trade related procedures will be notified to the 23

WTO very soon.

- Page 197, Paragraph 3.6: The Secretariat Report notes that the All relevant information related to GCS for interested companies to Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) established a Gold Card Scheme join is published online on Rwanda Revenue Authority's website where you can (GCS) in 2014, which allows approved companies (e.g., traders, find GCS Application and Self - Assessment Form and Gold Card Scheme clearing agents, warehouse operators, transporters) to benefit applicant information pamphlet. The list of approved companies is not yet from expedited clearance procedures following the signing of a published. memorandum of understanding with the Customs Services Department. Companies must be registered in Rwanda to qualify for the GCS programme.

Does Rwanda publish information online for interested companies to apply for approval in the GCS programme?

Does Rwanda publish the list of approved companies that are registered with this programme?

Does Rwanda plan to expand the GCS for companies that are not registered in Rwanda or does it provide other trusted trader programmes to expedite clearance for trusted companies not registered in Rwanda? 3.3.6 Government Procurement Rwanda will examine/assess the benefits of being a GPA Observer before Page 210, Paragraph 3.74: The Secretariat Report notes that applying to be a GPA observer. Rwanda is neither a member or nor an observer to the WTO

WTO Member Questions Responses Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). Becoming an observer to the GPA would allow Rwanda to engage with other countries on matters relating to government procurement and would not require Rwanda to take on any obligations.

Will Rwanda consider becoming a GPA observer? Page 211, Paragraph 3.78: The Secretariat Report notes that "domestic" or "local" for goods, works and services is defined as goods or Rwanda provides a preference for local bidders in international supplies produced in Rwanda for which labour, raw materials or component tenders, and that there is a "national tender" mechanism for originating from Rwanda account for at least thirty percent (30%) of the ex- procurements that fall under certain thresholds for goods, works, works price. It is based on the Nationality of Firm, i.e., firms/companies that and services. are registered in Rwanda.

How does Rwanda define "domestic" or "local" for goods, works, Rwanda does not collect statistics on the goods of services, works and services and services? Is it based on the nationality of the firm or through she procures. some other method? Does Rwanda collect statistics on the country of origin of goods, works, and services that it procures?

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 3.3.7 Intellectual property rights RSAU tariffs were approved in 2016 and revised in october 2018. In 2018, Page 215, Paragraph 3.104: The Report indicates that the Rwanda they collecled an average of 7 Million Rwandan Francs and not yet distributed. Society of Authors (RSAU) remained the only active collective

management organization in Rwanda. -

24

Please provide an update on the annual amounts of funds collected

- and distributed by RSAU, for which rights and for which authors and creators. Annex 4 Tanzania

2.3.2 Regional and preferential agreements Page 257, Paragraph 2.18:

Please explain how Tanzania implements its commitments under This is implemented in accordance with Section 112 of the EAC CMA which the SADC FTA in light of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda's provides criteria for application of preferential treatment of goods imported commitments under the COMESA FTA, of which Tanzania is not a under the SADC and COMESA arrangements. member.

How does Tanzania and other EAC members maintain the integrity This is in accordance with the Section 112 of the EAC CMA which provides of the CET in light of overlapping and mutually exclusive FTAs with criteria for application of preferential treatment of goods imported under the COMESA and SADC? SADC and COMESA arrangements. 3.1.1 Customs procedures, valuation, and requirements The eSWS is yet to be completed. The development process is still underway. Page 267, Paragraph 3.3: According to the Secretariat Report, We expect first phase to be implemented by June 2019. Tanzania's single window system (eSWS) was expected to be finalized by the end of 2018. While eSWS is yet to be completed, Tanzania has made progress on areas of seamless clearance of goods. In fact, Tanzania, through our revenue authority Could Tanzania indicate if the eSWS system has now been finalized (TRA), adopted ASCUDA+++, ASYSCAN, and Exemption Tracking System and implemented? (ETS). These platforms were indeed helpful. However, cognizant to the

WTO Member Questions Responses importance of continuous improvement through adoption of efficient technologies, Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) developed the System, dubbed as Tanzania Customs Integrated System (TANCIS), to provide avenue to other OGDs who work hand in hand with Customs for clearance of goods. Indeed, TANCIS, which began in 2014 and launched officially in July 2015, allows other OGDs to lodge the customs documents on the same entry thus reducing clearance time and cost. Does Tanzania plan to charge a fee associated with traders' use of There is no intention to charge fees for the use of window once completed. this portal? If so, will Tanzania publish those fees online? Page 267-268, Paragraphs 3.2, 3.7: The Secretariat Report notes The procedures are well stipulate in the TRA website and can be accessed that the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) outlines procedures for through the following link: http://www.tra.go.tz/index.php/clearing- importation on its website, including that the clearance process forwading-agents must be carried out by a licensed clearing and forwarding agent. The TRA also requires licensing for some customs procedures pursuant to the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA), including in the area of licensing clearing and forwarding agents.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Does Tanzania publish online the licensing requirements for clearing and forwarding agents? Do Tanzania's licensing requirements for clearing and forwarding There is no difference. The requirements are in accordance with the provision

agents differ with any requirements under the EACCMA for agents of the East African Community Customs Management Act (2004). All licenses -

who seek to work with other EAC members? are valid for a calendar year, that is, January to December. 25

Page 269, Paragraph 3.12: The Secretariat Report notes Tanzania Tanzania has not yet ratified the TF Agreement. However, we are at the

- has not yet ratified the TFA and the Government expects to ratify advanced stage of the ratification process according to the domestic by the end of Fiscal Year 2018-2019. Tanzania has designated ratification procedures. We expect, to have TF agreement ratified during the 5.9% of its commitments as Category A under the TFA, with coming financial year 2019/2020. 94.1% of measures under the Agreement remaining to be categorized as B or C. Two of Tanzania's commitments notified as Full implementation of the TF Agreement including notification of categories B Category A under the Agreement, transparency notifications 1.4 and C will be made after the ratification process has been completed. and 10.6.2, have not been submitted to the WTO, to provide traders with the online locations of Tanzania's information on Though, Tanzania has not yet ratified TF Agreement, the Government has customs procedures and processes and the use of customs continued to undertake dedicated effort in improving business environment in brokers. This information is due to the WTO upon Tanzania's the country. ratification of TFA. Those efforts include, among other things, the following: Does Tanzania still intend to ratify the TFA by the end of its Fiscal (a) Establishment and irrationalizing the National Trade facilitation Year 2018-2019? Committee; (b) Launching of the BLUEPRINT which was approved by the Cabinet in 2018. The BLUEPRINT provides the Governments' main framework for enabling a holistic review of the business enabling environment in order to improve the business climate in Tanzania. It presents key challenges affecting the business environment in Tanzania along with a set of recommendations for reforms to put in place a more business friendly environment in the country. The BLUEPRINT seeks to put in place a framework for addressing

WTO Member Questions Responses regulatory hurdles and create a smart, functional, and fair business regulatory regime in Tanzania; (c) Introduction of the Online Registration System (ORS) which enables business community and public in general, to access all services offered by the Business Registration and Licensing Agency (BRELA) wherever they are without physically visiting the respective offices; and (d) Infrastructure development in the form of roads, flyovers, rails ways, modernization of harbours and airports which are key enablers in facilitating trade. Could Tanzania provide a timeline for when it will submit This will be communicated to the WTO Secretariat shortly after the on-going information related to its transparency Notification 1.4 and 10.6.2 Trade Policy Review process is completed. to the WTO? Page 269, Paragraph 3.14: The Secretariat Report indicates that Advancing ruling is issued formally according to the East African Community Tanzania has an informal procedure for issuing advance ruling on Customs Management Act Section 24 and it lasts for the period not exceeding customs classification matters, and that there is no central 12 months from the date of issuance. database for tracking them or disclosure of them to the public. The United States notes that as Tanzania pursues Article 3 on Advance

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Rulings under the TFA, Members to the Agreement are expected to at a minimum publish the requirements for the application for an advance ruling, the time period by which it will issue an advance

ruling, and the length of time for which a ruling is valid. -

26

Does Tanzania have a timeline for formalizing its advance ruling

- process and publishing on the Internet the requirements for the application for an advance ruling, the time period by which it will issue and advance ruling, and the length of time for which a ruling is valid? Does Tanzania provide for advance rulings on issues other than Advance ruling cuts across all three issues of classification, rules of origin and classification of goods, such as valuation or rules of origin? Are valuation as per Section 248A of the CMA (2015 amendment). Advance ruling advance rulings valid throughout all ports of entry? issued by TRA are valid through all ports of entry. What is the time period for which an advance ruling is valid? Advance ruling cuts across all three issues of classification, rules of origin and valuation as per Section 248A of the CMA (2015 amendment). Advance ruling issued by TRA are valid through all ports of entry.

What is the process for appealing an advance ruling in Tanzania? Advance ruling lasts for the period not exceeding 12 months from the date of issuance. The appeal is done by writing an official letter to the Commissioner of Customs. The decisions on appeal are issued as soon as possible. 3.1.6 Anti-dumping, countervailing, and safeguard measures In accordance to Plant Protection Act 1997, Plant Protection Regulations 1999 Page 274, Paragraph 3.31: According to Tanzania's TPR, Tanzania and various International Phytosanitary Standards Measures (ISPMS), periodically implements import restrictions on agriculture products. Tanzania impose restrictions on importation of commodities based on Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) results to avoid the introduction of harmful organisms. Please provide additional information regarding these import restrictions. For example, please identify the process for putting in Restricted pesticides include: Ozone depleting agents like Methyl Bromide place such restrictions, what products have had such restrictions fumigants which are restricted under Montreal Protocol with the exceptional of put on them, and why those restrictions were put in place. fumigation on wood packaging materials.

WTO Member Questions Responses

Section 3.3.6 Government Procurement Tanzania notes and appreciates for the suggestion. We will undertake further Page 284, Paragraph 3.78: Tanzania is neither a member or nor an consultations and analysis in the capital which will inform our position on this observer to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement suggestion. (GPA). Becoming an observer to the GPA would allow Tanzania to engage with other countries on matters relating to government procurement and would not require Tanzania to take on any obligations.

Will Tanzania consider becoming a GPA observer? Page 285, Paragraph 3.80: The Secretariat Report notes that Section 3 of the Public Procurement Act. CAP. 410 as Amended in 2016, Tanzania provides a preference for local bidder, and that there is a defines "Local Firm" means a firm whose majority share capital is owned by "national tender" mechanism for procurements that fall under citizens of the United Republic" certain thresholds for goods, works, and services. • Section54 (2) of the PPA states that; The procuring entity shall, when How does Tanzania define "domestic" or "local" for goods, works, procuring goods, works or services by means of international or national and services? Is it based on the nationality of the firm or through tendering, or when evaluating and comparing tenders, grant a margin of

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 some other method? preference for the benefit of tenders for certain goods manufactured, mined, extracted or grown in the United Republic, for works by Tanzania contractors or services provided by Tanzania consultants, provided that this

is clearly stated in the tender documents subject to the provisions -

prescribed in the regulations made under this Act. 27

- Does Tanzania collect statistics on the country of origin of goods, The Authority enforces compliance of the Procurement Act to Procuring works, and services that it procures? entities and develops procurement guidelines for the same.

Yes, Tanzania collects relevant statistics in relation to country of origin of goods. In practice, TANCIS automatically requires for the details of the country of origin of a particular consignment at the time of declaration.

As regards to services, efforts are in advanced stage to start collecting data on trading in services by country of origin. The arrangement will involve commercial banks which facilitate payment of trade in services. 3.3.7 Intellectual property rights The IP strategy still being developed in conjunction with the National IP Policy. Page 287, Paragraph 3.91: The Report notes that work on The success of this strategy will be evaluated through the M&E framework developing a national IP strategy was underway as of October which will also be developed at the same time with the strategy 2018. The IP strategy still being developed in conjunction with the National IP Policy. The success of this strategy will be evaluated through the M&E framework Please provide an update on this work, and, if possible, identify which will also be developed at the same time with the strategy. key topics under consideration. Please also provide information on how the success of this strategy will be evaluated. 3.3.7 Intellectual property rights The IP Policy and its Strategy is in final stage of approval. Page 287, Paragraph 3.91: The Report notes that work on developing a national IP strategy The draft IP Policy addresses: the conventional issues of industrial property was underway as of October 2018. ranging from patents, Utility Model, trade and service Marks to geographical

WTO Member Questions Responses indications, traditional knowledge and folklore as well as copyrights, Please provide an update on this work, and, if possible, identify neighbouring rights. In addition, this policy also sets a national position on key topics under consideration. Please also provide information on wide array of issues of intellectual. The implementation strategy details how how the success of this strategy will be evaluated. M&E framework will be conducted. Page 288, Paragraph 3.94: The Report provides a brief summary Tanzania is in a process to amend its Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act. That law dates back No. 7 of 1999 (Mainland) and the Copyright Act No. 14 of 2003 (Zanzibar). to 1999. We have already done stakeholders meetings both in Tanzania Mainland and Is there any consideration to amending that law, especially given in Zanzibar. In so doing, we have received comments from the World the adoption of various international treaties (such as the WIPO Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on the recommendations. The draft Copyright Treaty, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, is now at the stage of being tabled at the Cabinet Secretariat. the Marrakesh Treaty) since then? One of the recommendations is to have provisions from the Internet Treaties, Beijing Treaties and Marrakesh Treaties. In Zanzibar, the current stage is to present it to the Management Committee, Principal Secretaries Committee, Ministerial Committee then to House of Representative.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Additionally, Tanzania is also in a process to sign the four treaties namely the WIPO Copyright Treaty, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, Beijing Treaty, and the Marrakesh Treaty.

-

Tanzania through the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Mainland), Ministry of 28

Youth, Culture, Arts and Sports (Zanzibar), the Copyright Society of Tanzania

- (COSOTA), the Copyright Society of Zanzibar (COSOZA), and Tanzania League of the Blind has done Stakeholders meetings regarding Beijing Treaty. It is now to be tabled at the Cabinet Secretariat.

Regarding the Internet Treaties, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Mainland), Ministry of Youth, Culture, Arts and Sports (Zanzibar), the Copyright Society of Tanzania (COSOTA), and the Copyright Society of Zanzibar (COSOZA) will conduct stakeholders' meetings for signing of the three treaties. Annex 5 Uganda A notification committee was constituted last year to handle all outstanding notifications during this calendar year. 2.3 Trade Agreements and Arrangements Page 366, Paragraph 2.13:

When is the current status of Uganda's outstanding notifications? 3.1.1. Customs procedures and requirements This form is available online via the URA web portal. Page 369, Paragraph 3.4: Uganda provides an import declaration form (C17) to traders in order to submit necessary documents electronically for goods to be released by Uganda Customs.

Could Uganda note if Form C17 is available to the public for use online?

WTO Member Questions Responses Page 369, Paragraph 3.5: The Secretariat Report indicates that Uganda has launched an Electronic Single Window (UESW), connecting multiple agencies involved in the regulation or control of imports, and allowing importers to track the status of every stage of document clearance. The United States notes that Uganda designated Article 1.4 of the TFA as Category A under the Agreement. However, Uganda has not provided a list of internet resources on its customs procedures and processes for traders to the WTO, which could include the single window portal.

Could Uganda provide a timeline for submitting its information for transparency notification 1.4 to the WTO?

Could Uganda note if there is a fee required to use this portal? Page 369, Paragraph 3.6:

What factors does Uganda consider in risk profiling of imported

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 agricultural products? Page 370, Paragraph 3.9: Uganda indicates that customs clearing and/or forwarding agents are not mandatory. However, in practice,

the majority of customs declarations are handled by these agents. -

29

Does Uganda publish the legal process for granting licenses and

- becoming a customs agent? 3.1.2 Customs valuation Page 370, Paragraph 3.12: The Secretariat Report notes that Uganda maintains a reference price database for when a customs declaration is found unsatisfactory.

Can Uganda please elaborate about the circumstances for when a customs agent would use the reference price database rather than the declared transaction value of the good? What circumstances are considered "unsatisfactory"? 3.1.4.3 Preferential Tariffs, Page 371, Paragraph 3.22: Uganda joined the COMESA FTA and give 100% reduction not 80% of goods originating from COMESA Partner States, except a few items for which phase Please explain whether Uganda applies a different amount down schedule is being developed within a reasonable time. Uganda remains reduction in the CET for goods originating in other COMESA at the forefront of driving regional integration. countries compared to what Burundi, Kenya, and Rwanda apply for goods originating in other COMESA countries under the EAC- COMESA FTA. If so, please explain why. 3.3.6 Government Procurement Page 381, Paragraph 3.93: The Secretariat Report notes that Uganda provides a preference for local bidders for goods and services. The Secretariat reports how Uganda defines a domestic good for the purposes of this preference.

WTO Member Questions Responses

How does Rwanda define "domestic" or "local" for services? Is it based on the nationality of the firm or through some other method?

Does Uganda collect statistics on the country of origin of goods, works, and services that it procures? Page 382, Paragraph 3.99: The Secretariat Report notes that Uganda is neither a member or nor an observer to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). Becoming an observer to the GPA would allow Uganda to engage with other countries on matters relating to government procurement and would not require Uganda to take on any obligations.

Will Uganda consider becoming a GPA observer? 3.3.7.2 Copyrights Page 384, Paragraph 3.117: The Report provides a brief summary

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 of the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act, 2006.

Is there any consideration to amending that law, especially given

the adoption of various international treaties, such as the WIPO -

Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms 30

Treaty? We note that Uganda ratified the new Marrakesh Treaty in

- April 2018, and it entered into force in July 2018. Questions based on the Government Report (WT/TPR/G/384) These are trade cooperation agreements that do not have implications on tariff rates, i.e. They do not have reciprocal tariff reduction. Page 15, Paragraph 6.5:

Please clarify the nature of the bilateral trade agreements described in paragraph 6.5, Do these agreements include reciprocal tariff reduction? Page 15, Paragraph 6.6: The EAC-EU EPA can only enter into force after all the EAC Partner States have ratified it. What is the legal effect of Kenya ratifying the EAC-EU EPA if the other EAC partner states have not ratified the agreement? Page 15, Paragraph 6.7: Phase 1 of the tripartite negotiations on goods was completed in 2015 and the Tripartite Agreement signed by the Tripartite Heads of State and Government What is the status of the Tripartite FTA that was signed on 15 June in June 2015 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. 2015? Has the agreement been ratified and entered into force? Out of the 26 countries (now 29 because of the recent entry of South Sudan, Somalia and Tunisia), 22 Tripartite Countries have signed the Agreement and four countries have ratified.

In regard to Tripartite Rules of Origin, an Annex has been negotiated and adopted and in addition, 91.5% of the tariff lines have been successfully

WTO Member Questions Responses negotiated and agreed. A draft manual for the implementation of the Annex on Rules of Origin has also been developed. Page 15, Paragraph 6.10: The integrity of CET is maintained despite the commitments under COMESA and SADC FTAs. Section 112 of the EAC Customs Management Act, 2004 is Under the EAC Common External Tariff, how do Burundi, Kenya, the legal basis and provides the criteria for application of preferential tariff Rwanda, and Uganda implement their commitments under the treatment to goods imported under SADC and COMESA arrangements. COMESA FTA when Tanzania is not a member of COMESA?

Under the EAC CET, how does Tanzania implement its tariff commitments under the SADC FTA when Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda are not members of SADC?

Are the tariff liberalization commitments under the COMESA and SADC FTA harmonized, or identical? Page 39, Paragraph 4.1.2:

When do the EAC members intend to notify their domestic

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 support? THAILAND PART I: QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SECRETARIAT REPORT As provided by Section 38 of the EAC Competition Act, 2006 the Commissioners were appointed by the Council of Ministers. The EAC

3.3.4 Competition policy and price controls (Pages 36 - 37) Secretariat had developed criteria specifying requirements to assist Partner -

States in nominating Commissioners. 31

This particular section mentions the "cross-border effects" of the

- EAC Competition Act of 2006. Please elaborate more on how the The EAC Competition Authority has been strengthening the necessary Act is applied and enforced on the members of the EAC, for infrastructure such as amendment of the Act in line with international best example, how the commissioners' get selected, how to determine practices, and development of regulations, among others. Therefore, it has courts' jurisdiction and how the result gets enforced. not commenced substantive enforcement of the Act. The enforcement of the Act will commence in the financial year 2019/2020. The Authority will notify the public by gazetting the date on which it will commence substantive enforcement the Act. 3.3.5 Intellectual property rights The draft EAC Anti-Counterfeit Bill is not yet finalized.

3.83 Counterfeiting and piracy of trademarks and copyrights remain a serious challenge to IPR protection in the region. Efforts are being made at the regional level to fight counterfeit and pirated products. An EAC Policy on Anti-Counterfeiting, which resulted in the Draft EAC Anti-Counterfeit Bill (2013) being developed. The Bill seeks to provide a legal framework for EAC members to prohibit trade in counterfeit goods. (Page 38)

Draft EAC Anti-Counterfeit Bill (2013). Is it Effective? In the case that EAC is enforced, all EAC countries must establish domestic laws or sign cooperation. And how does this law seek cooperation with other counterparts?

WTO Member Questions Responses 4.1.3 Fisheries (Page 306) IUU fishing is a big threat to Tanzania. This is commonly in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country where there are some foreign fishing Given the importance of the fisheries sector in Tanzania, please fleets. To overcome this, the country has established the Deep-Sea Fishing indicate whether/the extent to which it is facing the threat of Authority mandated for licensing of the vessels intends to fish in the EEZ. Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing and the effort it Furthermore, the authority is responsible for monitoring compliance to has undertaken and/or is planning to undertake to address this licensed vessel through monitoring and surveillance programmes. issue. Fighting against IUU fishing is not an easy task and mostly for developing countries like Tanzania. It is a costly exercise and due to resources constraints, LDCs, cannot afford to conduct surveillance 24hrs to curb illegal fishing.

Tanzania, in collaboration with neighbouring countries conduct joint patrols to fight against illegal fishing, though not as much as it would have been expected. PART II: QUESTIONS REGARDING THE GOVERNMENT REPORT EAC countries supports and promotes environment protections in all context Though what means, if any, do the EAC countries promote

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 mutually supportive trade and environmental policies, high levels of environmental protection and effective enforcement of environmental laws, whether they be in agriculture, fisheries,

forestry or other sectors? -

Within the framework of WTO General Agreement on Trade in Please see the tables below this matrix for the information. The sub-sectors 32

Services, the EAC countries made specific commitments across 11 are based on those contained in the W/120 classification list.

- sectors, namely, business services; communication; tourism; transport; financial; education; environment; recreational, cultural and sporting; health; distribution and construction; and related engineering services. Tourism services is the only common sector committed by all EAC countries. At the EAC level, EAC countries have concluded negotiations in seven sectors, namely: business; communication; distribution; financial; tourism and transport, where they have made deeper commitments to open their markets further than at the WTO GATS level to facilitate the implementation of the common market. (Page 13)

EAC has mentioned in the report that they have concluded negotiations in seven sectors but only six services sectors have been provided. Which is the remaining sector? In addition, please, elaborate on the specific commitments of the services sector, which are beyond the WTO/GATS level in term of Market Access, National Treatment or Additional Commitment. 2.5. In matters related to trade with third parties, EAC countries EAC received a request from Singapore to negotiate an FTA Agreement. EAC is negotiate in principle as a bloc. Under the Customs Union currently undertaking an assessment of the implications of negotiating FTA Protocol, a member may separately negotiate bilateral trade Agreements with selected third Parties including Singapore. agreements, subject to notification to the other members. Such agreements should not conflict with the provisions of the

WTO Member Questions Responses Customs Protocol. In principle, pursuant to the Trade Negotiations Act, 2008, negotiations are led by a Joint Trade Negotiations Commission. However, according to the authorities, the Act has never been operationalized. In 2014, the EAC Trade Negotiations (Repeal) Bill, 2014 was drafted by the Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs and submitted to the EALA for deliberations. In 2018, the Repeal Bill was referred to the Committee on Communication, Trade and Investment. (Page 16)

In relation to East African Community's trade and investment policy with third parties, does the Community plan to negotiate any trade or investment agreements with ASEAN or any country in this region? 3.13. Customs duties are assessed on the c.i.f. value of goods; The alternative methods used are the five methods other than the Transaction insurance is mandatory except for inter-EAC transfer of goods. value method (Method 1 – also called the Principal method) that is provided for The URA uses its own exchange rates that are published on its under the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation (ACV). These are website at the time it approves the customs declaration. A a) Transaction value of identical goods (Method 20

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 valuation database is used for purposes of reference and b) Transaction value of similar goods (Method 3) application of alternative valuation methods where a declaration c) Deductive method (Method 4) is found unsatisfactory during the vetting process. The database d) Computed method (Method 5)

of reference values is constituted from previously accepted e) Fall –back method (Method 6) -

transaction values. (Page 370) 33

These methods are applied sequentially in deriving customs value.

- We would like to ask that which alternative valuation method, Uganda utilize to determine the price of goods and how to apply for it. CHINA Questions based on Report by the Secretariat (WT/TPR/S/384-01) As a Customs Union and Common Market, EAC Partner States are obliged to coordinate their trade relations with third Parties and to adopt common Page 16, Para 2.5-2.6 principles in particular in relation to: tariff rates; conclusion of tariff and trade agreements; the achievements of uniformity of measures of liberalization; It is mentioned in the report that "Under the Customs Union export promotion strategies; and trade remedies. The EAC Summit of 2002, Protocol, a member may separately negotiate bilateral trade Article 37 of the Customs Union Protocol and Article 37 of the Common Market agreements, subject to notification to the other members." In this Protocol attest to this. sense, can EAC countries negotiate bilateral trade agreement with another country at their discretion? Is it required additionally to Article 37 (4a) of the Customs Union Protocol states that a Partner State may apply for authorization from EAC before the initiation of a bilateral separately conclude or amend a trade agreement with a foreign country FTA? provided that the terms of such an agreement or amendments are not in conflict with the provisions of the protocol. The paragraph also describes the process whereby a Partner State intends to conclude or amend such an agreement, i.e. a Partner State that intends to negotiate such agreement with a foreign country should send its proposed agreement or amendment to the EAC Secretariat for other Partner States to make comments and proposals that will be considered by the Council of Ministers within a period of sixty days.

WTO Member Questions Responses In the foregoing, FTAs separately would jeopardize the implementation of the CU Protocol. However, Trade cooperation agreements that do not have implications on tariff rates, etc. could be concluded individually, following the process in Article 37 para 4., which involves authorization from the Council. Page 20, para 2.30 Impact of AfCFTA on the Economic and Trade cooperation between EAC Partner States: It is reported that the Africa is actively pushing forward the In principle, a positive impact to increase intra-African Trade it is expected establishment of AfCFTA. Will it have an impact on the economic between all African countries. However, given the fact that EAC as regional and trade cooperation between EAC and other WTO Members? block with a customs Union applying CET, it is expected that the tariff liberalization process with other African countries in the AfCFTA in line with the liberalization modalities, the bloc/ EAC countries will consider the applied CET in its schedule of Commitments.

Impact of AfCFTA on the Economic and Trade cooperation with other WTO Members: The AfCFTA is a free trade area, tariff liberalization is only among the FTA members, while AfCFTA State parties will maintain their MFN Applied Duty to

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 WTO Member States.EAC will maintain its external tradepolicy with other WTO members who are not members of AfCFTA. Notwithstanding that, A.U Summit recommended that all A.U member states

should refrain from entering into a bilateral trade arrangement before the -

AfCFTA enters into force to avoid any disruption that might undermine the 34

current AfCFTA progress and interfere with the continental commitment to

- speak with one voice. Nonetheless, Art.18 of the agreement establishing the AfCFTA and Art.4 of the protocol on Trade in Goods, provide for continental preferences and addresses the third-party trade arrangements between AfCFTA states parties and the third party. Questions based on Report by the EAC (WT/TPR/G/384) Although the EAC Partner States are members of different RECs (Tanzania- SADC: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda-COMESA), they negotiate as a bloc Page3, para 1.7 with third parties on the basis of being a customs union.

Some EAC countries are members of different regional economic Current efforts to harmonize multiple membership in regional economic communities (RECs) simultaneously. In this case, how could an communities is being addressed through negotiations for the Tripartite Free EAC country deal with such overlap or disparity among intricate Trade Area (EAC-COMESA-SADC) and AfCFTA. rules and provisions of different RECs when conducts negotiating FTAs with another country

WTO Member Questions Responses UKRAINE PART I: QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SECRETARIAT REPORT EAC Partner States have negotiated a Protocol on SPS for cooperation on SPS (WT/TPR/S/384) related measures. This is currently under ratification by all the Partner States.

Page 7 (Para 17) Considering the SPS protocol is not yet implemented, challenges related to inspection and certification procedures maybe true for SPS but not TBT in Under the Report, the EAC countries continue to experience terms of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment. challenges in the harmonization of their regimes on SPS-related measures, standards and technical regulations, particularly In regard to TBT, EAC countries undertake standards and conformity concerning the mutual recognition of inspection certificates, and assessment procedures (inspection, certification and testing) are based on this contributes to further increasing trade costs in the region. international standards such as IEC/ISO 17020 for inspection, 17065 for According to available information, Ukrainian companies are also certification and 17025 for calibration and test laboratories. adversely affected by burdensome certification procedures when exporting products to the EAC member States. Peer Assessment is undertaken on an annual basis to assess each Partner States Conformity Assessment procedures in line with international standards Ukraine would appreciate if the EAC countries could share their views and intentions concerning possible simplification of current EAC partner states are in continuous engagement in harmonization of certification regime, in particular for such items as food products, standards, regulations, conformity assessment procedures, and SPS measures

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, household chemicals, fertilizers and to facilitate trade. seeds. Uganda:

The requirement for certification of goods including the need for pre-shipment -

inspection (PVoC) is to protect the public and consumers from products that 35

may cause harm if they do not meet the quality and safety specifications of

- the relevant mandatory technical regulations and standards. Simplification of the conformity assessment processes while achieving the two main goals of consumer protection and trade facilitation remains and will be the continual improvement goal for the EAC conformity assessment system. Efforts will continue to be exerted to ensure close collaboration between the TBT & SPS Institutions to ensure expeditious handling and conformity assessment of products – single window; harmonization, mutual recognition etc. These are regulated products and it is not envisaged that requirement for obtaining certificates indicating conformity will be waived of. What is envisaged is the continuous improvement of the various conformity assessment processes through a risk-based approach. Are there any plans for possible termination of necessity to obtain Activities undertaken for legitimate objectives without imposing unnecessary certificates for abovementioned goods? obstacles to trade consistent with the WTO TBT/SPS Agreements. Termination is not an option. What authorities are responsible for making decisions in this area Local Authorities, Bureaus of Standards, Ministries responsible for Agriculture, at EAC level and in individual EAC countries? Food and Drug Authorities. Multisectoral as per the mandate varying from one country to the other

In Kenya, the authorities are Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate and Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and Directorate of Veterinary Services.

WTO Member Questions Responses In Uganda, the authorities responsible for making decisions in relation to imported food products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, household chemicals, fertilizers and seeds are UNBS, MAAIF, NDA and DDA. What potential mechanism for cooperation between EAC members There are cooperation possibilities in the context of relevant international and third countries can be envisaged in the area of certification? agreements including TBT and SPS agreements. Page 10 (Para 1.6) Uganda: The Report states, "Efforts are ongoing with a view to In Uganda's case, the vetting process to discover the ultimate shareholders/ strengthening financial operations within the region. The African beneficial owners (> 5% stake) is never triggered by indicators of capacity, Development Bank is funding the EAC Payment and Settlement but rather automatic (followed even in cases that might be considered Systems Integration Project (EAC-PSSIP). The objective of the obvious). However, non-transparent structures are usually laid out in complex Project is to contribute to the modernization, harmonization and webs of owners, both institutional and individual. They often have trusts in the cross-border interoperability of payment and settlement systems ownership layer, and companies may not all be from the same jurisdiction. for commercial, securities market and retail transactions across I. To ensure known beneficial owners, and to mitigate the risk the EAC. A cross-border payment system was launched in 2013, of a bank becoming a conduit for illegal activities such as allowing traders in the Community to conduct real-time money laundering, entities are awarded banking licenses in transactions in their local currencies. In 2018, the East African the following instances; Legislative Assembly passed the East African Monetary Institute II. If they are financial institutions regulated in a recognized

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Bill, establishing the EAC Monetary Institute as a transitional jurisdiction (e.g. banks licensed in another country). BoU institution in charge of carrying out the preparatory work for the consults the regulator in that jurisdiction to verify monetary union." ownership.

III. If the applicant is a private non-financial entity, they must -

Taking into account involvement of the EAC member States' banks be listed on a recognized stock exchange. 36

and financial institutions in this process, could the EAC, please, IV. Individuals, together with related parties (e.g. relatives)

- describe indicators of a non-transparent ownership structure and cannot own more than 49% of the bank's equity. approaches to revealing banks' beneficial owners, which are used V. All unregulated applicants undergo a due diligence process by the central banks in the EAC countries? of identification process conducted by BoU, to determine ability to recapitalize, and lack of criminal background among others. VI. It is noteworthy that the vetting process is continuous, and shareholders are fit and proper until they are not. What are the types of activities of non-banking financial These are numerous, and cannot all be listed herein. They fall under the institutions requiring authorization/licensing? purview of four key regulatory authorities including: the Capital Markets Authorities; the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authorities; the Retirement Benefits Authorities and the Insurance Regulatory Authorities across the EAC. Some of these activities include: • Licensing and regulation of Capital Markets activities; • Retirement benefits regulation and retirement benefits investment regulation and policies; • Regulation of insurers, licensing insurers and reinsurers, brokers, agents and other service providers; and • Licensing and regulation of SACCOs and their activities Rwanda: In the Rwandan context Non-Banking FinancFIs are required to abide by the regulations' requirements: - Minimum paid up capital required

WTO Member Questions Responses -A detailed business plan specifying the sector of operations, financial assumptions, SWOT analysis, - Shareholding and governance structure -Fit and propriety information on direct and indirect significant shareholders as well as Directors and senior managers - Capital structure and its source - Business reputation for existing NBFIs - Non-objection from home regulator in case of foreign NBFI

Uganda: Please note that the National Payments System (NPS) Bill is yet to become law in Uganda. Moreover, regulations to operationalize such a law when ready, are yet to be put in place. Thus, wherever relevant (pertaining to payments), the discussion below refers to the NPS bill (please refer to appendix on components of the payments system, in Uganda's case). In the event a Non-Bank Financial Institution (NBFI) seeks to participate in the national payments system, the following require licensing;

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 o Payment system operators/providers. e.g. mobile money service providers (these tend to be telecom companies in Uganda's case), Interswitch, Agency Banking Companies

(ABCs). -

o Electronic money (E-money) issuers (e.g., mobile network 37

operators. These maybe the same entities operating the

- underlying payment system. o Issuers of payments instruments (instruments like cheques or debit/ credit cards used to initiate a payment or transfer). Supervised NBFIs, although licensed, must seek authorization to participate in markets outside the traditional ones for which they were licensed. E.g. forex bureau must obtain authorization to offer money transfer or mobile money services.

WTO Member Questions Responses What are the key requirements to non-banking financial These are varied from Partner State to Partner State. However, specific institutions applying for the authorization/licensing? requirements can be obtained from the relevant regulatory websites and or institutions.

For example, Kenya we have: Capital Markets Authority: https://www.nse.co.ke; Retirement Benefits Authority: http://www.rba.go.ke; Insurance Regulatory Authority: https://www.ira.go.ke; and Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority: https://www.sasra.go.ke Uganda benefits Regulatory Authority @ubra.go.ug Social Security Regulatory Authority (SSRA) Tanzania National bank Rwanda (BNR) Rwanda South Sudan Pension Board

Rwanda: The licensing procedures is related to analysis of information submitted (as above) and after being satisfied that the NBFI meet the licensing

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 requirements, we issue a license. The assessment of source of funds is one of the other assessments of an applicant as well as the financial standing and strength.

What are the approval procedures, including verification of sources Uganda: -

of funds used for capital formation, assessment of financial 38

standing, business reputation and transparency of applicants' Approval is a function of the due diligence outcome. The bank vets' potential

- ownership structure? institutional owners by contacting regulators in the jurisdictions in which they are licensed, or other regulatory bodies, as well as law enforcement agencies such as Interpol. The bank engages lawyers to assist with due diligence (especially of foreign based applicants). The due diligence is especially useful for complex structures. Moreover, the bank assesses financial strength by looking at declared sources of funds and checks this against the due diligence results. It may also use anecdotal evidence (such as from the press).

Appendix Payment systems. The payment systems in Uganda are categorized as; a) payment systems operated by the central bank which include - (i) the Real Time Gross Settlement System; (ii) the Automated Clearing House; (iii) the Central Securities Depository for government debt securities; (iv) cross border payment systems; and (v) Any other payment system that the central bank may establish. b) payment systems operated by another government entity or in partnership with government entities in public interest; c) payment systems operated by the private entities, including – (i) switches;

WTO Member Questions Responses (ii) electronic money systems; (iii) aggregators or integrators; and d) Any other payment system as may be approved or licensed by the central bank under this Act. Page 20 (Para 2.33) Note that this is work in progress and EAC Partner States are still discussing the harmonization of domestic taxes. Regarding Excise taxes, In the context of the investment regime and the EAC's objective to Partner States have established a list of mandatory excisable goods and also "promote the Community as a single investment area", could the agreed to establish a minimum rate for each of the mandatory excisable good, EAC elaborate on the harmonization proposals for VAT and excise which shall be adopted by all Partner States. taxes rates that were developed for consideration by the finance In order to establish minimum rate to be adopted, Partner States identified ministers in November 2018, as well as on the results of such current rates of excise duty for the mandatory excisable goods/services for all deliberations? Partner States in order to identify and agree on the minimum rate that would be applicable to all Partner States. However, it was noted that some Partner States impose excise duties based on specific rates while others use ad valorem method. In this case, comparisons of rates across the EAC Partner States became a challenge, as it would require computation of tax incidence/tax yield per unit for the case of ad valorem or converting tax values

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 to percentages for the case of specific method. It was further noted that this computation will require additional information and statistics, which was not available during the discussion. So, at the moment, we are working on

converting tax yields obtained from ad valorem rates into specific values per -

unit and/or converting specific excise rates into percentages in order to enable 39

comparison of minimum excise rates across Partner States and establish a

- minimum rate that will be adopted by all Partner States, as provided for in the EAC Policy for harmonization of domestic taxes. Regarding the VAT, EAC Partner States have agreed that it is necessary to harmonize substantial aspects of VAT including the tax coverage, exemptions, bases, rates, credit/refund mechanism, time and place of supply, threshold and registration procedures in order to maintain coherence in the domestic systems of taxation in the community, which should be developed as the principal form of indirect taxation in the community. In view of this, EAC Domestic Tax Harmonization Policy stresses on harmonization of VAT as guided by the following principles: • Destination principle of taxation; • Common rules for determining mandatory exemptions and a limited list of optional exemptions; • Common rules for determining supply, tax point, and taxable values; • A single positive standard rate in each PS subject to an EAC-wide minimum; • Adopt a zero-rating approach for all exports; • Adopt a limited zero rating/related VAT reliefs for specific domestically consumed goods and services; • Adopt common rules for implementing the invoice-credit method, credit carry forward, limitations on input credits and reimbursement

WTO Member Questions Responses for excess VAT paid (paying attention to tax neutrality for investments); • Adopt a common framework for tax incentives under VAT; • Adopt common procedures regarding registration rules; • Adopt common minimum thresholds for VAT mandatory registration Page 36 (paragraphs 3.72 – 3.73) Yes, harmonization is based on SPS Protocol which is aligned to the WTO SPS Agreement The Report states that the EAC Treaty requires the countries to harmonize sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures for pest and disease control. Under the Customs Union Protocol, the EAC countries are to cooperate in several areas, including SPS measures. In this context, an SPS Protocol was developed in 2013, based on the provisions of the WTO SPS Agreement. As of December 2017, harmonized measures and procedures have been developed for plants; mammals, birds and bees; fish and fishery products; and food safety. According to information, provided in Table 3.8 (Para 3.72), in the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 absence of relevant EAC standards and member States' standards in the area of food safety, international food and feed safety standards, such as Codex Alimentarius, IPPC and OIE, must be

used. -

To date, the SPS Protocol has been ratified by Rwanda, Burundi, 40

Kenya and Uganda.

-

Would the East African Community kindly confirm that harmonization of its SPS measures is based on international standards, guidelines or recommendations, as required under the WTO SPS Agreement? Have mentioned harmonized measures and procedures being Not yet. The EAC SPS harmonized measures and procedures developed for already used in the EAC countries? plants; mammals, birds and bees; fish and fishery products; and food safety will start to be used once all member states will have ratified them. In addition, implementing legal instruments such the EAC SPS bill and regulations are being discussed at EAC level. Are there any other products for which harmonized SPS measures All products were taken into considerations as related to plants; mammals, and procedures should be developed? birds and bees; fish and fishery products; and food safety. Does the EAC undertake any type of consultations with domestic Yes, EAC undertakes National consultations and then regional meetings during and international stakeholders during this process? the process of harmonization of SPS measures and procedures What are particularities of control, inspection and approval Every product under the EAC mutual recognition agreement is not subject to procedures in case of the absence of relevant EAC standards and further certification or testing. Contrary to that, the national standard may be member States' standards in the area of food safety? What used, or we can simply refer to the international standard. Now the food lab is competent bodies are responsible for undertaking such procedures under the Ministry of Health in the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority (RFDA) at import stage? Ukraine would also appreciate if Tanzania could inform of its status Tanzania is fully cognizant of the importance of the SPS. Also, we are aware of and plans of participation in the process of harmonization of SPS the importance of harmonizing SPS measures within the region. measures and procedures at the EAC level.

WTO Member Questions Responses While mindful to the importance of SPS issues, however, our internal consultation process has taken somehow longer than expected. Partly, this has been due to a large number of stakeholders (in the public and private sector) to be involved before making sound decision. Presently, we are at the final stages (awaits presentation to the Parliament). In that regard, Tanzania hopes to ratify the EAC SPS Protocol in a very near period. Page 36 (Para 3.74) The Mutual Recognition Procedure (MRP) is a process in which the National The Report mentions a mutual recognition procedure for veterinary (Medicines) Regulatory Agency (NRA) of one EAC Partner State, the vaccines and pharmaceuticals, which was adopted in 2015, Reference Country (RC), assesses an application for a Marketing together with a harmonized registration system. Authorisation (MA) for a veterinary medicinal product, shares the assessment with other NRAs in countries where the MA is being sought, the Could the EAC, please, elaborate more on mentioned mutual Concerned Countries (CCs) to obtain their opinions, resulting, for successful recognition procedure for veterinary vaccines and pharmaceuticals applications, in the RC and CCs issuing identical MAs simultaneously within a and harmonized registration system? defined timeframe. Adoption of the MRP is in line with Chapter 18, Article 108 (e) of the Treaty of establishment of the East African Community which Are these procedure and system applied in all EAC member provides for adoption of a common mechanism for ensuring the safety, States? quality and efficacy of Immunological Veterinary Products (IVPs).

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 All the EAC Partner States are participating in the MRP. 3.3.5 Intellectual property rights Kenya: Page 38 (Para 3.83) Kenya is taking measures to combat counterfeiting and piracy of trademarks

According to the Report "Counterfeiting and piracy of trademarks and copyrights. The following are measures that the government has taken: -

and copyrights remain a serious challenge to IPR protection in the • In 2018, Kenya gazetted an inter-agency anti-illicit trade executive 41

region". committee to deal with illicit trade (Gazette No. 7270 of July 2018).

- The committee consists of CEOs from over 20 enforcement and Would the EAC member States kindly inform how they are government departments including the private sector. planning to address these matters, considering that only Burundi is • Kenya has taken a bold action to stop the entry of counterfeit goods a member of WIPO Copyright Treaty, and only Kenya has acceded into its market by strengthening its border control. New offices have to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration been opened at critical border points and staff members have been of Marks? posted. • Kenya has also strengthened its law (anti-counterfeit act, 2008) to introduce, inter alia, new offences such as trading in counterfeit marks, enhancement of powers of ACA inspectors to those of customs officers, and introduction of IPR recordation which is aimed at addressing imports of counterfeit goods. • Kenya has developed a National Action Plan to Combat Illicit Trade. This document was subjected to stakeholder participation and review and it will be launched in March 2019. Kenya does participate in the annual Interpol programmes (EAPCCO) aimed at removing counterfeit products in the EAC and southern African countries.

Rwanda: Rwanda is in the process of reforming its current legal and institutional framework so as to better address counterfeiting and piracy. The newly approved policy on IP creates a new IP office which once, established will have an office dedicated to liaising with enforcement agencies to prevent

WTO Member Questions Responses counterfeiting and piracy. The new IP policy also mandates that Rwanda accede to the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the Madrid Agreement, and this is expected to occur in the course of this year.

Uganda: To overcome the limitation of private enforcement of IP rights it became necessary for Uganda Registration Services Bureau to set up a specialised Intellectual Property enforcement unit. In 2016, URSB in cooperation with Uganda Police Force established the Intellectual Property Enforcement Unit. The Unit's role is the enforcement of the law against trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. URSB has since the establishment of the Unit undertaken various intellectual property enforcement activities. Other enforcers include: The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is responsible for institution and conducting prosecution of offences including counterfeiting and piracy to their logical conclusion. DPP on receipt of the case file from the Intellectual Property Enforcement Unit, assesses sufficiency of evidence and may institute proceedings or decline to prosecute. Where there

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 is a reasonable prospect of a successful prosecution, the DPP institutes prosecution proceedings and in supported by the enforcement unit throughout the process.

The High Court has unlimited jurisdiction in hearing cases and therefore -

receives and hears intellectual property cases. The Chief Justice designated 42

the Commercial Court to especially hear civil cases of commercial nature

- including those related to intellectual property whereas criminal matters mainly the heard in Magistrate's courts are mostly heard in the newly created division of the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court headed by a Chief magistrate. URSB and UNBS have a common interest in ensuring products that are certified as meeting standards are not counterfeit or pirated. In March 2018, URSB entered a Memorandum of Understanding with UNBS with the objective among others of promotion of quality in goods by among others enforcement of standards and intellectual property rights. URA through its customs department enforces border measures under the various IP laws (Section 86 Trademarks Act and section 56 of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act). URSB is exploring opportunities with UCC to ensure that content being broadcast or distributed by those entities licensed complies with the law specifically the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act (Section 28 of the Uganda Communications Commission Act). The NDA registers drugs and their brand names though the person registered for the brand name does not thereby acquire trademark rights under the Trademarks Act. As such there is a shared interest in ensuring that those brands registered by NDA acquire enforceable intellectual property rights. To that end URSB has jointly carried out sensitization and enforcement activities with NDA.

WTO Member Questions Responses URSB supervises Collective Management Organizations (CMOs). Twenty copyright inspectors from the licensed CMOs including Uganda Reproduction Rights Organisation, Uganda Performing Rights Society and Uganda Federation of Movie Industry were as mandated by law appointed Copyright Inspectors to enforce the law against piracy (Section 52 of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act).

Tanzania: Regarding the Piracy, Tanzania is in a Process to sign the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty and to amend the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act No. 7 of 1999.

Tanzania Mainland through a formalization Committee comprising of the Copyright Society of Tanzania, Tanzania Film Board, National Arts council and Tanzania Revenue Authority fight piracy and have more plans to strengthen the fighting against piracy in Mainland Tanzania. However, Tanzania will continue to have more Ad Hoc Task Force raids comprising of all stakeholders

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 in counterfeit and piracy.

For the Zanzibar, task force committee comprise of, Police, Zanzibar Revenue

Board, the Copyright Society of Zanzibar, right holders, Zanzibar Arts and -

Music Council and Immigration. 43

4.4 Services EAC Partner States have negotiated and concluded mutual recognition

- Page 43 (Para 4.34) agreements in a number of professional services sectors, namely: The Report mentions mutual services liberalization plans of the Accountancy, Architectural, Engineering and Veterinarians. There is on-going EAC countries. work on MRAs for Legal, Pharmacists and Quantity Surveyors. Partner States also cooperate on specific sectors with a view to coordinate and harmonize Could the EAC member States provide more details concerning their policies and regulatory frameworks, such as in the financial sector, their vision of future policy in trade in services, in particular, transport, tourism, education and health. intentions of participation in negotiations on disciplines on domestic regulation in services? Kenya notes that trade in services remains one of the areas with a mandate to negotiate multilateral disciplines in WTO. Regarding domestic regulations, Kenya has offensive interest in the elimination or reduction of restrictions in qualification requirements and procedures, and licensing requirements and procedures, particularly in mode 4.

Kenya may consider the possibility of participating in negotiations on disciplines on domestic regulations in services.

Rwanda's vision is to become a service hub and to move from agrarian to service economy in particular the Ministry of Trade and Industry is in the process of developing Trade in services Strategy. However, at EAC level, the EAC Secretariat with the support of GIZ is carrying out the regulatory framework in our respective Partner States to determine the gaps in regulatory cooperation.

WTO Member Questions Responses Uganda has a national policy on Trade in Services Trade and Strategy to guide among others, regional and multilateral trade in Services negotiations. At the WTO, Uganda participates in the Working Party on Domestic Regulation and currently serves as focal point in this area for the LDC Group in services. ANNEX 1 BURUNDI Burundi intends to ratify the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation in one year.

3.1.1 Customs procedures, valuation and requirements Page 73 (Para 3.11) The Report mentions, that Burundi has not yet ratified the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation, but it has notified its Category A measures. Could Burundi, please, inform of its plans to ratify the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation and further to implement its provisions? 3.1.3 Customs duties Administrative taxes are high because it is a way to increase the revenues of Page 73 (Para 3.17) the Public Treasury because the country does not have many alternative Under the Report "In addition to other community duties and means of revenue collection.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 taxes, Burundi imposes levies such as administrative fees at a rate of 0.5% on the c.i.f. value of all imports, the security charge at a rate of 1.15% on the c.i.f. value, and a pollution tax of BIF 2

million per vehicle on all vehicles that are more than ten years -

old." 44

- Would Burundi kindly explain the rationale behind the policy to base such additional levies on the c.i.f. value of imports rather than the approximate cost of services rendered in connection with importation as provided by Article VIII: 1(a) of the GATT 1994? 3.3.2 Standards and other technical regulations The programme to verify the conformity of goods with all products that may Page 78 (paragraphs 3.56-3.57) be imported into Burundi is required to prevent imported products from being According to the Report, all products, that may be imported into of poor quality. Burundi, are subjects to the merchandise conformity verification programme and must be accompanied by a certificate of conformity, which is compulsory for customs clearance in Burundi. If the goods do not meet the requirements, a non-conformity report is issued to the exporter, and the goods are not allowed to be imported into the country. Under the certification procedure, the exporter must pay fees for the physical inspection and documentary review. According to data of Table 3.2 the amount of fees for preshipment product conformity verification varies from USD 235 to USD 2,375. Sampling and testing fees are determined by agents conducting the pre-export verification of conformity process (PVoC) on a case- by-case basis. Any goods subject to PVoC arriving at the port of entry without a certificate of conformity are charged a destination inspection fee of 15% of their c.i.f. value.

WTO Member Questions Responses Would Burundi, please, explain the policy rationale to apply the merchandise conformity verification programme to all products that may be imported into Burundi? How Burundi could ensure that its certification procedure and the The country considers that these are not technical barriers to trade. pre-export verification of conformity process (on a case-by-case basis) do not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade? How does the amount of fees for the physical inspection and Fees are collected outside Burundi documentary review, sampling and testing, destination inspection of imported products correspond to requirements of provisions of Article VIII: 1(a) of the GATT 1994 and Article 5 (Para 5.2.5) of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade? ANNEX 2 KENYA ATI is a multilateral institution, owned by several African States, that provides political risk insurance to companies, investors, and lenders interested in 2.4 Investment Regime doing business in Africa. It provides political risk insurance to cover foreign Page 125 (Para 2.24) direct investment. The Report notes, that investors in Kenya can insure against political risks through the World Bank's Multilateral Investment Risks covered include Non-honouring of sovereign and sub-sovereign

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Guarantee Agency (MIGA) or the Africa Trade Insurance Agency. obligations & debts; Confiscation, Expropriation & Nationalization; Arbitration Award default; Currency inconvertibility; War, Civil war & Terrorism and Could Kenya, please, specify how the Africa Trade Insurance Embargo.

Agency provides investor's insurance against political risks (which -

political risks are insured, what is the procedure of investor's ATI products also include commercial risk insurance and surety as well as 45

insurance etc.)? political violence/terrorism insurance. ATI other member countries are

- currently Benin, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

To apply for investment insurance, email [email protected] or fill in the form on this link here Page 125 (Para 2.24) Kenya has signed Investment Promotion & Protection Agreements with a According to the Report "Kenya has signed bilateral investment number of Countries. promotion or protection treaties with about 50 countries." However, in the footnote 17 to Para 2.24 only 11 countries are Only 12 Investment Promotion & Protection Agreements are currently in force. listed. For more information on the above agreements and respective texts go to: Would Kenya kindly elaborate on the list of all countries with which bilateral investment promotion or protection treaties have been http://www.treasury.go.ke/investment-promotion-and-protection- signed? agreements.html 4.1.2 Agricultural policy • Commercial trading in grains Page 148 (Para 4.10) • Provision of commodity handling and other grain related services The Report states, "Strategic reserves stockholding is part of including carrying out various social functions such as Strategic Food Kenya's strategy for food security. Since 2015, the National Reserve and Famine Relief in collaboration with national and county Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has been responsible for governments maintaining a strategic reserve. The prescribed quantities are eight • Procuring and marketing high quality farm inputs million bags of 90 kilograms of maize equivalent to be held in • Provision of storage and grain maintenance services to clients

WTO Member Questions Responses reserve at any given time. This can be in the form of grains, pulses, rice, powdered milk or cash equivalent. Replenishment is through buying from farmers during harvest time. The stocks are offloaded during drought or when there is a shortage in the market. The Stock can also be offloaded after two years to ensure fresh supplies and avoid wastage due to pest infestation or expiry. NCPB currently provides storage and grain maintenance services, and distributes farm inputs, including the fertilizers procured by the Government under its agricultural development support programme."

Could Kenya kindly inform more of the activity of the National Cereals and Produce Board? Can foreign suppliers take part in procurements of agricultural No, unless in cases where procurement is on market prices and subject to products for strategic reserves stockholding? international competitive bidding. Would Kenya also clarify at what prices agricultural products for Administrative prices or market price strategic reserves stockholding are procured (at current market

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 prices or at administrative prices)? Can agricultural products, which are offloaded from the stocks, be No, they are for domestic consumption exported?

4.4.4 Tourism The main mandate of the fund has been to provide finance on commercial -

Page 175 (Para 4.182) basis for the development of tourism industry in Kenya. The projects covered 46

The Report mentions that the Tourism Finance Corporation (TFC), include;

- established in 1965, has the mandate of identifying investment • Hotel development opportunities in the sub-sector, providing business advisory • Non-conventional tourism projects services, and providing loans (with favourable terms and • Restaurants conditions) and credit facilities to investors and entrepreneurs. The • Renewable energy projects resources of the TFC are essentially from the budget. • Health spas • Entertainment centres and shopping malls Ukraine would appreciate if Kenya could inform more of the functioning and the main achievements of the TFC activity. The main achievement has been the development of tourism infrastructure in urban and rural areas such as national parks that are in rural areas and unexploited tourist attractions. At what rates and prices does the TFC provide appropriate loans The rates and prices are on commercial basis but negotiated. The finances are and business advisory services to investors and entrepreneurs? specific to the tourism industry. The information is publicly available at www.tourismfinance.go.ke ANNEX 3 RWANDA Rwanda will review the gaps and comply accordingly with the notifications on its import licensing procedures before going forward 3.1.6 Import prohibitions, restrictions, and licensing Page 202 (Para 3.28) The Report notes, "Rwanda has not submitted any notifications to the Committee on Import Licensing since 2011. At that time, Rwanda had affirmed the absence of laws, regulations or procedures relevant to the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. Nevertheless, prior authorization and/or licence

WTO Member Questions Responses requirements remain in place for certain imports, including: pharmaceuticals and related equipment (Ministry of Health); ozone-layer-depleting substances and wild animals (Rwanda Environment Management Authority); agrochemicals, plants and live animals (Ministry of Agriculture). According to the authorities, the import licensing regime is not used for quantitative restrictions purposes." According to footnotes 19 and 20 to Para 3.28 some import licensing requirements were introduced after 2011 (in particular, for agrochemicals and plants).

Could Rwanda, please, elaborate, whether it plans to submit notifications on its import licensing regime according to provisions of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures and, if so, when? PART II: QUESTIONS REGARDING REPORT BY EAST AFRICAN Kenya has implemented the Single Window System for all imports. All the COMMUNITY (WT/TPR/G/384) current regulatory agencies have access to the system where they upload all

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 necessary licenses required before customs release of cargo is granted. Page 9 (Para 4.3) The Report mentions the business facilitation reforms made by the

EAC countries, which include, among others: improved customs -

processing system; trade facilitating infrastructure including 47

Standard Gauge Railway, One-Stop Border Posts, electronic cargo

- tracking; establishment of national electronic Single Window; introduction of electronic declaration, document processing and payment of customs duties and taxes; and rollout of authorized economic operators.

With regard to mentioned business facilitation reforms, could the EAC members kindly provide more information on measures taken for the establishment of the national electronic Single Window? Would the EAC also elaborate on its member States, in which such Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya. Tanzania and Burundi are in the process of Single Window mechanisms are already fully functional? developing the electronic Single Window. Page 9 (Para 4.7) The EAC Food and Nutrition Security Policy and Action Plan (2018-2022) and Under the Report, "The EAC countries' medium to long-term policy the CAADP Regional Agriculture Investment Plan (RAIP)- 2019-2026 are some frameworks aim at transforming the agriculture sector towards of the instruments that have been developed to address higher productivity higher productivity through sustainable commercialisation of through sustainable commercialisation of production to enhance smallholder production to enhance smallholder farmers' income for improved farmers' income for improved livelihood, food security and nutrition. livelihood, food security and nutrition."

Would the EAC, please, elaborate on the current development of domestic policy on the agricultural sector's harmonization across the EAC?

WTO Member Questions Responses Page 13 (Para 5.2) EAC is currently undertaking a review of the CET 2017 The Report states, "The EAC is implementing a common external tariff (CET), which commenced in 2005 with three bands of 0% for raw materials and capital goods, 10% for intermediate goods and 25% for final/consumer goods. There are applied tariff rates above 25% for products treated sensitive within the community outlined under schedule one of the tariff book." Ukraine is seeking further clarifications in terms of the progressive reduction of the EAC Common External Tariff. Could the EAC, please, specify the next CET review's schedule? COLOMBIA REPORT OF THE SECRETARIAT - Document WT / TPR / S / 384 Approved Regional AEO benefits: 3.1.1 Documentation and customs procedures Paragraph 3.5 states that "in 2016 a programme of authorized ▪ Automatic passing of declaration; economic operators (AEO) was introduced. Under this programme, ▪ No physical examination of goods, except for random or risk-based any person or company with international trade activities can interventions. benefit from faster customs clearance procedures if it has been ▪ ECTS requirement waiver where applicable recognized by the customs authorities as a low risk operator. ▪ Expedited payment of refund claim

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Customs declarations of AEO-certified merchants and ▪ Reduced Customs security where applicable manufacturers have priority throughout the clearance process. ▪ Priority to participate in Customs initiatives Customs and freight forwarders recognized as AEO benefit from ▪ Guaranteed renewal of Customs license

priority treatment in the freight forwarding chain and are exempt ▪ Priority treatment in cargo clearance chain -

from the bond deposit requirement. AEO transporters benefit from ▪ Waiver of movement bond requirements for AEO 48

priority clearance procedures at the borders and are exempt from ▪ Self-management of bonded warehouse

- the mandatory use of the electronic tracking system. ▪ Good reputation for a company; ▪ Recognition as a low risk reliable business; The EAC countries can provide more information about the benefit ▪ Expedited processing while at Customs; that arises in the development of the EAC AEO program, for ▪ Cost savings; carriers that are exempted from the mandatory use of the ▪ Increased turnover and profitability. electronic cargo tracking system. The carriers that are exempted from the mandatory use of ECTS benefit in terms of reduced time and cost in undertaking their business. 3.3.2 Standards and other technical requirements Harmonization of EAC Standards is done in accordance with the procedures based on ISO/IEC Directives and the Annex 3 of the WTO Code of Good Colombia is interested in obtaining more information about the Practice. experience of the EAC countries in the revision of regulations in force, that is, how often is the regulation revised? Please explain Conventionally they are revised after every 5 years but in case of the results that have been obtained so far, including the process of implementation challenges or changes in technology they are revised implementing the reviews and if any changes have been made and accordingly. why. Apriority workplan agreed on the three-year period and annual workplan. Could the EAC countries confirm if they have considered the Kenya Bureau of Standards carries out regulatory impact analysis at the applicability of the Regulatory Impact Analysis tool to proposal stage of standards development. systematically evaluate the effects of the proposed regulations.

WTO Member Questions Responses What is the proportion of the national and foreign certification Each Partner State has a certification body anchored within organisations bodies that exist in the EAC countries, as well as which industries established through the governments: Kenya Bureau of Standards; Rwanda are involved, respectively? Standards Board; Tanzania Bureau of Standards; Uganda National Bureau of Standards.

Two certification bodies recognised by KENAS are Bureau Veritas Certification and SGS certification which operate within the East African countries and have offices in Kenya. Industries involved include Agriculture, Food, Printing companies, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electrical & electricity supply, hotels, restaurants, information technology, public administration, education, health& social work.

A monitoring tool is under development for all the Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) in the EAC and their competences

Rwanda There are some foreign certification in Rwanda that help to certify

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 different companies according to their scheme: SGS, Bureau Veritas, URS, Egypt, Ecocert, Africert, DNV,Hallal, Rain Forest Alliance, Organic ceres Germany, Fair Trade etc.

Do the EAC countries plan to establish or increase the number of Currently there is no indication that there is a plan to increase certification -

certification bodies abroad, if so, can they present the expected bodies. 49

plan and schedule?

- i.e. Rwanda does not have any plan to establish certification body abroad instead she uses international accredited bodies where Rwanda is not able to certify local businesses Do the technical regulation activities carried out in these countries operate in an articulated manner with the other entities that have regulatory functions? In practice how is this articulation and how is the procedure of preparation, issuance and notification of technical regulations? With regard to transparency when preparing and implementing Kenya develops technical regulations based on international standards and technical regulations, has the possibility of putting the technical normally notifies WTO members at draft stage of the regulations as provided regulations in international consultation been considered, in order in the TBT agreement. to receive comments from interested countries and thus avoid creating technical obstacles unnecessary to trade When developing technical regulations, available international standards are based on and they are notified to other WTO members to gather comments and avoid unnecessary obstacles to trade. Have you taken into account the possibility of having technical and KENAS has signed an MOU with Uganda National Bureau of Standards for legal mechanisms for the conclusion of "Mutual Recognition reciprocity in issues relating to Conformity Assessment Activities. Agreements" with other countries for the validity, recognition and approval of Certificates of Conformity Assessment issued by There is a mutual recognition agreement on Quality marks and the agencies? of inspection and certification, testing and calibration Harmonization of procedures on inspection laboratories accredited in the countries of origin?

WTO Member Questions Responses In terms of the mutual recognition agreement, can the EAC EAC has not developed a framework for mutual recognition agreement but countries illustrate their policies and information on mutual would appreciate to learn from other WTO members. recognition agreements signed and executed. It is a requirement by the SQMT Act and the respective regulations for designation of laboratories and Recognition of Quality Marks 3.3.3 Sanitary and phytosanitary measures EAC has developed and adopted SPS measures on plant health based on (IPPC), animal health (OIE) and food safety (Codex) Have possible ways to facilitate the application of standards and related texts of international reference bodies such as Codex, OIE and the IPPC been identified to develop and harmonize sanitary and phytosanitary measures? What have been the initiatives of governments to establish a Implementation of the harmonized SPS measures awaits full ratification of the National Food Control System, which defines the structure SPS Protocol by the EAC Partner States (entities, competences and procedures) to implement sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and facilitate recognition or equivalence with other health systems of countries interested in exchanging products of animal and plant origin?

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 What is the procedure used to formulate and establish sanitary The SPS Protocol was developed based on the WTO SPS guiding principles and phytosanitary measures and that these comply with the risk including Measures based on science; harmonization; equivalence; assessment (technical or scientific support), in order to prevent assessment of risk and transparency

them from becoming an unjustified barrier to trade? -

3.3.5 Intellectual property rights 50

- In paragraph 3.77 the Secretariat notes that "the EAC countries have different levels of intellectual property protection. However, the Protocol establishing the Common Market of the EAC urges member countries to cooperate in the field of intellectual property rights. "

How does the EAC affect the existence of different speeds in the implementation of controls at the border protection level? Kenya In respect to protecting against entry of counterfeit medicine, the Country has 3.3.7 Intellectual property rights gazetted ports of entry through which medicines coming to Kenya must pass through. Further, we have gazetted inspectors who manned those border In paragraph 3.118 it states that "in accordance with the Anti- controls. Counterfeiting Act of 2008, the trade in counterfeit goods is prohibited and can be prosecuted. The Anti-Counterfeiting Agency Additionally, all medical products imported into the country must have an was created in 2010 with the mandate to combat counterfeiting, import license issued by the regulator. Moreover, HS code which are specific trade in counterfeit goods and other related activities. Under the to health products and technology have been mapped into national trade Act, any holder of an intellectual property right who has valid system; Kenya National Electronic Single Window System (KESWS) to ensure reasons may submit a claim to the Agency for the suspicious goods only products authorize by the regulator get into the country. Only registered to be seized and withheld. " products and technologies are allowed into the country.

In accordance with the Anti-Counterfeiting Act No. 13 of 2008 of There are mini labs (raman spectroscopy) for quality sampling at gazetted Kenya and the corresponding previous version among whose entry points and regional offices for market surveillance.

WTO Member Questions Responses objectives was the use of a language that could facilitate their There is active pharmacovigilance to routinely monitor the products in the understanding while avoiding possible misunderstandings on the market. part of the judges in terms of punishing ordinary activities, and at the same time, the use of the Law of protection of intellectual The gazette notice number 8370 on entry border points is available on the property as an effective tool in the reduction of the standard in the regulator website; www.pharmacyboardkenya.org quality of medicines, mainly, the so-called generic. Are there to date measures to counteract the adverse or unfavorable effects in the application of the anti-counterfeit regulations in the sense of providing an adequate approach at the time allowing the entry of generic drugs that correspond to the quality standards necessary for their entry to the national territories of Kenya, and eventually to the other members of the East African Community? Are there border measures for qualitative controls of this type? Tanzania The systems as well as performs the Risk management through the Risk 3.1.1 Customs procedures and requirements and customs management module function. Through this module functions the following: valuation Selectivity; • WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 • Simulation; In paragraph 3.3, the Secretariat reports that "in 2014, the • Compliance level for importer and Declarant (Clearing and Forwarding Integrated Customs System of Tanzania (TANCIS), an online tool Agent-CFA); and

that was fully installed in all customs posts in June 2015, was put • Statistical data. -

into operation in the continental territory. The system has been 51

progressively replacing printed documents with an environment Selectivity:

- without paper support, which has led to significant savings in 1. Under this criterion, the system selects the goods basing on its terms of costs and time. It also allows customs to carry out criterion settings, either red, yellow or green; intelligence operations, risk management and real-time 2. It allows the verification/ inspection at all points of entry/exit; and monitoring. However, for the entry of goods through Zanzibar, 3. Basing on this function, the system can route the goods to scanner or importers must use the electronic system in force in their territory, physical verification (red). namely, ASYCUDA ++. Both the latter and the TANCIS allow transfer of information to other CAO member countries. Tanzania's Simulation: single window system (eSWS) is scheduled to be completed by the 1. Mainly function is basing on Importer/Exporter History; and end of 2018. In August 2018 the TANCIS included about a dozen 2. Focusing on HS Code classification, Valuation or Rules of origin. more operations of public institutions. " Compliance: In terms of trade facilitation, it is considered important to have 1. Basing on Tax Identification Number; and more information in relation to the Integrated Customs System of 2. The system gives the statistics with regards to importer/exporter or Tanzania, particularly in terms of risk management and real-time country of origin as per set aside criteria. follow-up, a matter in which it is in our interest to know whether the risk management system is a comprehensive system that includes aspects of control by other agencies than the customs and in real time monitoring if it refers to satellite tracking of cargo in transit or import.

WTO Member Questions Responses ARGENTINA Paragraph 4.4. of the Report WT/TPR/G/384 indicates that the EAC • Rwanda provide other facilities to members that are not part of the countries are rolling out other trade facilitation initiatives Community at the time of Importation and Exportation like: including: trade portals, call centres and business development 1. Adoption of Risk Based Approach during Verification services. 2. Implementation of Regional and National Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) Scheme In this regard, could the EAC provide further information on trade 3. Implementation of Gold Card Scheme-Compliant Traders Scheme facilitation measures for the provision of business development 4. Implementation of ECTS services available to Members that are not part of the Community? 5. Adoption of Cargo Scanning to facilitate quick release while reducing the cost of doing business 6. Extension of working hours to 24/7 and 18/6 at selected major borders and Inland Customs offices 7. Automation of Customs Processes to enhance faster clearance and reduce the cost of Doing Business Paragraph 5.4. of the Report WT/TPR/G/384 mentions that within EAC Partner States are finalizing a Protocol on Tourism for the EAC. After the framework of the WTO General Agreement on Trade in conclusion of the Protocol that Partner States could consider improving their Services, the EAC countries have made specific commitments commitments in the area of tourism at the WTO level. across 11 sectors, namely, business services; communication;

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 tourism; transport; financial; education; environment; Kenya has not considered additional sectors for liberalization, but we may recreational, cultural and sporting; health; distribution and explore the possibility of considering other sectors. construction; and related engineering services. Tourism services is The following sectors could be considered:

the only common sector committed by all EAC countries. • Hospitality -

• Transport 52

From the perspective of the EAC Members regarding tourism • Telecommunication

- services: • Entertainment

What would be the main areas of interest to improve GATS Rwanda: commitments in "services related to tourism and travel"? The Tourism sector is important for the Rwandan economy. Upon the establishment of the WTO, Rwanda liberalized the tourism sector and travel- What service sectors could be considered related to the related services with no limitation in mode 1 (cross border trade); mode 2 development of the tourism industry? (consumption aboard); and mode 3 (commercial presence) for hotels and restaurants including catering as well as mode 4 (movement of Natural persons) with exceptions.

Also, Rwanda is completely open under the Environmental services and Recreational, cultural and sporting services that are related to Tourism. The main area of interest is under the Standards of accommodation establishments and Tour operations in Rwanda.

Other tourism related services such as Education and Health are also bound without limitations. In addition to this commitment, the favorable national investment climate has contributed in, and will continue to, attracting international hotel brands and other tourism services suppliers. Rwanda's schedule of specific commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services reflects a level of binding commensurate with Rwanda's level of development with ambition for a steady development of this sector. In

WTO Member Questions Responses addition to the WTO commitment, the existing autonomous liberalization in Rwanda makes the Rwandan economy one of the most open in the world. Furthermore, Rwanda is engaged in a comprehensive trade liberalization agenda for both goods and services under EAC and AfCFTA

Uganda: The WTO LDC services waiver expounds on the needs of our country in regard to the tourism sector. All services sectors contribute to the development of the Tourism Industry. For example; accommodation, Transport, Health-tourism, Creative industry, Arts & Designs, Culture Construction, ICT and Professional Services. Kenya Use of the Single Window has helped to reduce clearance time, especially for 3.1.1 Registration, customs procedures and documentation perishable goods. Importers/their agents are allowed to get permits using advance information. Currently, goods are required to be inspected at origin, Paragraph 3.1 indicates that customs procedures in Kenya are and the certificates are uploaded into the single window system in advance, governed mainly by the provisions of the EAC Customs before arrival of the cargo. Management Act (Common Report, Section 3.1.1). The Kenya

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Revenue Authority (KRA), through its Customs Services Kenya believes that these processes of import controls could be improved in Department (CSD), is responsible for customs administration. At the following ways; the border, KRA enforces various import and export controls in • Use of non-intrusive verification eg scanning

collaboration with other government agencies: Kenya Bureau of • Application of a one-shop verification point, where all interested agencies -

Standards, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, Directorate of verify the goods once at-the-same-time. 53

Veterinary Services, National Biosafety Authority, Port Health • Use of risk analysis to target goods for verification.

- Services, Kenya Police Services, and Kenya Fisheries Service.

Considering that many of the goods imported by Kenya are perishable, do the Kenyan authorities believe that these processes of import controls could be improved by reducing the time they involve? BRAZIL Secretariat Report, Page 26 (Para. 3.28) The introduction of specific duty rate was meant to discourage dumping and The number of non-ad valorem tariff lines increased from 13 under-valuation. (0.2% of total lines) in 2011 to 55 (1.0% of total lines) in 2018 (Table 3.2), as a result of, inter alia, shifts from ad valorem (e.g. the rate of 10%) to mixed tariffs, mainly on steel products (HS 72) (Table A3.2). The increasing number of tariff lines with non-ad valorem rates adds to the complexity of the tariff structure. According to the authorities, tariff lines with non-ad valorem rates are meant to protect against adverse effects of undervaluation due to complexities in the valuation of products.

Could EAC members elaborate on the reasons for the increase in the number of non-ad valorem tariffs lines from 13 in 2011 to 55 in 2018?

WTO Member Questions Responses EUROPEAN WT/TPR/S/384 – WTO Secretariat's Report The transition to the East African Monetary Union is conceptualized as a two- UNION Paragraph 1.5, page 10 and paragraph 2.13, page 17 phase process. In the initial convergence phase, the Partner States are to The Secretariat's report states that "The adoption of the East work towards achieving preconditions designed to limit the union's exposure African Monetary Union Protocol (EAMU Protocol) in 2013 is to internal economic strains. These preconditions include (i) full another milestone in the region's integration process. The Protocol implementation of Customs Union and Common Market Protocols (ii) lays the groundwork for the establishment of a monetary union by attainment of agreed Macroeconomic convergence criteria (iii) establishment 2024. A centrepiece of this framework is the creation of a common of institutions to support the Monetary Union and (iv) harmonization of policies currency, to be managed by a supranational central bank…" and legal frameworks. "In November 2013, EAC members took a step further with the signing of the Protocol on the Establishment of the EAC Monetary So far significant progress has been made towards achieving these Union (MU Protocol), which entered into force in 2014. The prerequisites. However, implementation of some aspects on EAMU Protocol Protocol lays out the framework for the harmonization of monetary roadmap is lagging behind the agreed timelines. For example, non-tariff and fiscal policies, with a view to converging toward a single barriers continue to hinder free movement of goods in the region and also currency within ten years." Partner States have not fully aligned their national laws with the Common Market Protocol, which guarantees the right of EAC citizens to move freely and What measures are envisaged to put into place the regulatory to establish residence in any EAC Partner State. framework to support the establishment of the monetary union by

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 2024? What progress has been recorded since 2013 in this regard? Establishment of a stable monetary union will require a strong institutional Please specify which challenges, if any, have been faced to framework to monitor and enforce convergence. For this purpose, the EAMU implement the EAMU Protocol? protocol provides for the establishment of four support institutions including,

the East African Monetary Institute (December 2015), East African Statistics -

Bureau (2018), East African Surveillance, Compliance and Enforcement 54

Commission (2018) and the East African Financial Services Commission

- (2018). Legal instruments for the establishment of these institutions are at various approval stages but lagging behind the agreed times lines.

EAC Partner States are making steady progress in achieving the Macroeconomic Convergence Criteria and in harmonizing their policies and regulatory frameworks. Paragraph 1.6, page 10 "…The African Development Bank is funding the EAC Payment and Settlement Systems Integration Project (EAC-PSSIP). The objective of the Project is to contribute to the modernization, harmonization and cross-border interoperability of payment and settlement systems for commercial, securities market and retail transactions across the EAC…"

At what stage of implementation is the EAC- PSSIP project? Is the integration of existing systems substantially completed and is the regional technological platform operational? Paragraph 1.13, page 11 and paragraph 2.11, page 17 The Intra-EAC trade is not as low as 10%, it actually doubles 10%. However, The Secretariat's report affirms a low intra-EAC trade in goods (at intra-trade remains low and this could be attributed to, among others: lack of around 10% of the merchandise trade of the community) due to, full harmonization of policies and laws, in adequate infrastructure and inter alia, non-tariff barriers including cumbersome administrative interconnectivity challenges, Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), including non- procedures. On the other hand, the report affirms that 127 NTBs harmonised technical standards, sanitary and phyto-sanitary requirements

WTO Member Questions Responses out of 133 identified have been eliminated through the mechanism and roadblocks, constitute a major constraint to intra-EAC trade, currency put in place since 2007. convertibility, lower levels of technological and business sophistication, market information shortages, inadequate value chain linkages and industrialization. Could the EAC explain the reasons why the intra-EAC trade The EAC countries have put in place a number of strategic interventions to remains so low? Are the non-eliminated NTBs so important or are consolidate the goals of the Customs Union and to address the challenges there other reasons that impede the increase of the intra-EAC experienced in its implementation. These include: implementation of the trade and if the latter, which ones? Single Customs Territory whose objective is to facilitate faster clearance and improvement in cargo movement along the two corridors (Northern and Central); the Standard Gauge Railway line; removal of administrative and infrastructure related barriers to trade; enactment of the EAC NTBs Act 2017 and the implementation regulations; implementation of the Standardization Act and undertaking a comprehensive review of the Common External Tariff and the implementation of the EAC Industrialization policy and strategy. Paragraph 1.14, page 11 The measures taken by the EAC to overcome the lack of statistical data, "The lack of statistical data on cross-border trade (largely informal specifically for the informal small cross border traders is the implementation of within the EAC), prolonged droughts in the region during the the Simplified Trade Regimes (STRs), which is a special trade policy provision review period, and duty and tax exemptions (granted on an MFN which carves out specific provisions for small traders by separating them from

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 basis) on inputs, have also played their part." the mainstream high-valued transaction clearances and allowing the application of simpler customs clearance requirements. The EU would like to know what measures are envisaged at the

EAC level to overcome the lack of statistical data. Please indicate Among the benefits of the STR to the EAC region is better collection of -

what measures, if any, have been taken to cope with the informal statistical information of the goods, values and quantities traded which has 55

trade? enhanced the planning and decision-making of the EAC.

-

In order to facilitate greater utilisation of the STR by the cross-border traders, the EAC Secretariat is working with the relevant cross border associations to implement a comprehensive capacity building and awareness creation programme, installation of billboards at the border crossings, development of a strategy for the elimination of NTBs faced by small cross border traders. Paragraphs 1.16 and 1.17, page 12 Measures taken by EAC to diversify export commodities and increase the "Extra-EAC trade in goods continues to display a deficit, with share of trade within the EAC include: roll out of the EAC Industrialization exports generally covering less than 50% of imports. The deficit Policy both at regional and national levels; promotion of regional value chains recently narrowed from USD 25.3 billion in 2015 to USD 19.2 (agro-processing products, textiles, chemicals and pharmaceuticals and billion in 2017 as a result of falls in global prices of crude oil. enhancing productive capabilities), enhanced programme for elimination of Exports are dominated by commodities for which EAC countries are trade related impediments (NTBs) affecting agricultural sector, services, and price takers: tea; coffee; cut flowers; and non-monetary gold. industrial goods; formulation and roll out of an Export Development Strategy Imports are dominated by manufactured products, including fuels, (2019-2023) . The EAC Partner States will also leverage on the market chemicals (e.g. medicaments, fertilizers), and machinery and opportunities in Tripartite and Continental FTA's and other third-party transport equipment." markets. "In 2017, Kenya and Uganda are the major players in intra-EAC trade. Major traded goods across the region include agricultural Kenya has developed the integrated National Export Development and products (e.g. sugar, maize, and vegetable and animal oils) and Promotion Strategy. The strategy aims to develop products for exports to manufactured products (e.g. cement, steel and steel products, expand the export basket to utilize existing market opportunities. It also plastics and pharmaceuticals)." focuses on value addition and diversification to broaden the product base.

WTO Member Questions Responses What efforts are being made to reduce the trade deficit and to Uganda: The National Exports Development Strategy prioritises among others: diversify the export commodities? Please indicate what measures export development of consortia, value chains, trade fairs & missions, market have been taken and will be taken to increase the trade within the surveillance, etc. In addition, Uganda will work with EAC Partner States to EAC? improve overall infrastructure, removal of NTBs and participating in EAC fairs. Additionally, attention of FDIs for investment information and promotion in sectors such as Pharmaceuticals, processed foods, electronics and Motor vehicle assembly. Paragraph 1.22, page 14 and paragraph 2.21, page 19 The Tripartite Agreement is not under implementation because only four (4) "According to the authorities, the operationalization of regional tripartite Member States have ratified the Agreement while the number arrangements, such as the Continental Free Trade Area and the required for the Agreement to enter into force is fourteen (14). EAC-COMESA-SADC Tripartite, could expand the prospects for investment inflows in the region." Challenges for negotiating tariff offers: "…Although the Agreement has been signed, annexes relating to • Liberalization of sensitive products/tariff lines tariff schedules and rules of origin are still under negotiation." • Consensus on goods for immediate liberalisation • Consensus on goods for gradual liberalisation Four years after the conclusion of negotiations (June 2015) at which stage of implementation is the EAC-COMESA-SADC Challenges for negotiating rules of origin:

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Tripartite Agreement, and what progress has been recorded since Presence of both developing countries and LDCs in the tripartite arrangement the last review? What are the main challenges, if any in and therefore while other will seek flexible rules others will opt for more negotiating tariff schedules and rules of origin? restrictive rules.

Paragraph 2.3, page 15 Every country has its own ratification procedure and priorities. -

"The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) is the judicial arm of the 56

Community. With its ten judges, it has jurisdiction over the

- interpretation and application of the EAC Treaty. Since its establishment in 2001, the Court has been operating on an ad hoc basis…. A protocol on the extended jurisdiction of the Court has been signed by the Summit, to enable the Court to handle trade- related issues. However, it is still undergoing the ratification process."

The Draft Protocol to Operationalise the Extended Jurisdiction of the East African Court of Justice was signed in 2005. The EU would like to know which challenges have been faced to ratify the protocol. Paragraph 2.20 page 18 The Tripartite FTA Agreement contains trade facilitation measures which are in "EAC countries are engaged in the establishment of a tripartite line with the EAC TF action plan free trade area (FTA) involving members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the South African Development Community (SADC) (COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite FTA). The FTA covers 26 African countries that account for about 57% of the continent's population and 58% of its GDP. It is part of an overarching project aimed at establishing a continental FTA, and ultimately the African Economic Community." How is the regional action plan on TF at EAC level coordinated with the other regional organisations above mentioned?

WTO Member Questions Responses Paragraph 2.22, page 19 As of November 2018, there were 62 outstanding NTBs. The status of The report affirms that as of September 2017, there were 79 elimination of the NTBs is as follows: active complaints (in the Tripartite NTBs Reporting, Resolving and (a) Forty-five (45) NTBs have been resolved Monitoring Mechanism), of which 42 were by stakeholders from (b) Seventeen (17) remain unresolved EAC countries against measures taken by other EAC members. Of the seventeen unresolved NTBs, two (2) were referred to the EAC Council Could the EAC explain if these complaints for NTBs have been of Ministers and the parties affected by the NTBs have already embarked on resolved and could the EAC list these NTBs? the process of consultations with a view to resolving them. The two NTBs are Preferential Treatment on Confectionaries and trade on tobacco products. Efforts to resolve the other outstanding NTBs are also ongoing through guidance of the regional forum on NTBs, Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment and bilateral initiatives. 3.1.1 (Customs procedure and documentation), page 22 i) Capacity of other agencies systems to interface with the Customs systems to allow data exchange under the SCT; Could the EAC give an update of the different challenges of the ii)Differences in domestic levies, taxes, fees and charges; customs union, in particular with regard to operationalizing the iii)National priorities overriding regional priorities and thus affect the speed of single customs territory and the internal borders clearance? execution of planned activities

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Paragraph 3.9, page 23 i) OSBPs will improve intra and external region cross border trade and thus The establishment of one–stop border posts (OSBP) is mentioned facilitate foreign investment in the region as a key step in the operationalization of the customs union. While

OBSP definitely improves border crossing speed and efficiency thus ii) Goods are not subjected to controls at the OSBP thus reduce internal -

reducing barriers to trade, it does not remove internal border that borders 57

is the ultimate objective of a fully-fledged customs union for an

- unfettered movement of goods inside the EAC.

Could the EAC explain how OBSP will contribute to the operationalization of the customs union? Paragraph 3.12, page 23 The measures of the regional Plan: "Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have ratified the WTO TFA; the other 1. Publication; EAC countries have not yet done so. All the countries have notified 2. Opportunity to comment and information before entry into force; their category A commitments under the Agreement and have 3. Consultations; adopted a regional action plan for its implementation." 4. Advance ruling; 5. Information availability through internet; The EU also notes regarding notifications to the WTO: Burundi, 6. Enquiry points; Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya have notified category A commitments 7. Right of Appeal review; but have not done any notification of B and C categories. Rwanda 8. Notifications for enhanced controls or inspection; has categorised its commitments but has not detailed the needs 9. Test procedures; for assistance. 10. General disciplines on fees and charges imposed on or in connection with importation or exportation; Could EAC indicate what are the main measures of the regional 11. Specific disciplines on fees and charges imposed on or in connection action plan for implementation of the TFA and how this relates to with importation or exportation; the national Trade Facilitation Committees' work at national level? 12. Pre-arrival processing; What are the countries in the region that have adopted a NTFC and 13. Electronic payments; what are the lessons learnt? For those that may not have set a 14. Separation of release from final determination of customs duties, NTFC what are the difficulties encountered? Has assistance been taxes, fees and charges;

WTO Member Questions Responses requested? How is donor coordination achieved at national 15. Risk Management; level/regional level if appropriate for category C needs of 16. Post Clearance Audit; assistance? Regarding ratification, could the countries that have 17. Establishment and publication of average release times; not yet ratified- Burundi and Tanzania- indicate what are the 18. Trade facilitation measures for Authorised Economic Operators; difficulties they are facing and what is the expected timeline 19. Expedited Shipments; considered for ratification? 20. Perishable goods; 21. Border Cooperation; 22. Formalities and documentation requirements; 23. Acceptance of copies; 24. Use of International standards related to import, export and transit formalities; 25. Single window; 26. Common Border procedures and uniform documentation requirements 27. Rejected goods; 28. Freedom of transit; 29. Customs cooperation;

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 30. National Trade Facilitation Committees and regional sub-committee on Trade Facilitation

EAC is coordinating Partner States to implement the measures with regional -

aspects and ensuring harmonization. 58

- All Partner States have established their NTFCs and are functioning. But there is still a problem of funding. Some do not conduct regular meetings due to lack of funding.

Tanzania and Burundi are in the process of ratification. It is a normal prioritisation by the national political organs. There is no specific problem.

Uganda is yet to finalise categorization for B&C and undertake a thorough analysis on the financial needs. Support is needed to run the NTFC action plans and roadmap. Paragraph 3.22, pages 24 and 25 The EAC CET is currently being reviewed and the structure of the reviewed The Secretariat's report states that "…the review of the current CET will be determined at the time when concluding the exercise. EAC CET is underway, and it is planned to be finalized in 2019."

Could the EAC give more details about the currently ongoing CET's review? Will the three-band regime change? Paragraphs 3.25, 3.27 and 3.28 pages 25 and 26 This will be addressed during the ongoing exercise of reviewing the EAC CET "The EAC CET comprises: zero on raw materials and capital goods; 10% on intermediate goods; 25% on finished goods; and rates above 25% on some items deemed sensitive. The sensitive items specified in Schedule 2 of the EAC CET are, in principle, goods where EAC member States see potential for local production and

WTO Member Questions Responses trade. In the 2018 tariff schedule, the sensitive items, consisting of some 63 tariff lines, cover, inter alia, dairy products, wheat, rice, sugar, woven fabrics, and worn clothing. According to the authorities, these products are considered sensitive, especially with regards to promoting local productive capacities and taking into account environmental purposes." "The 2018 simple average applied MFN tariff is 12.9%, slightly up from 12.7% in 2011. The coefficient of variation of 0.95 (up from 0.94 in 2011) indicates moderate tariff dispersion, with rates ranging from zero to 100%, including the ad valorem part of mixed rates. The highest ad valorem rate (60%) applies to 16 tariff lines, for dairy products; and the mixed tariff rate, including the ad valorem rate of 100%, applies to cane and beet sugar." "… The increasing number of tariff lines with non-ad valorem rates adds to the complexity of the tariff structure. According to the authorities, tariff lines with non-ad valorem rates are meant to protect against adverse effects of undervaluation due to

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 complexities in the valuation of products."

Since the last Review of the EAC, the CET average rate has

increased from 12.7% to 12.9%. What plans do the EAC members -

have for harmonizing their CET with their WTO Commitments in 59

regard to CET ad valorem rates?

- Paragraph 3.46, page 32 The introduction of a 1% levy on extra-bloc imports was put on hold pending a The Secretariat's report states that "The authorities indicated that study on the sustainable financing of the EAC, which is on-going. EAC countries are considering the introduction of a 1% levy on extra-bloc imports, to fund the Community's budget. In addition, Kenya does not apply any levy. Rwanda and Kenya are implementing the decision, taken at the 27th AU Summit, to introduce a 0.2% levy on imports from non- Rwanda begun applying the AU levy of 0.2% on import from non-African African countries." countries on 15/05/2017 as the law governing AU levy has been published in official gazette on that date. Could the EAC clarify when a 1% levy on extra-bloc imports, which is currently under consideration, would come into effect? Could Rwanda and Kenya advise when they plan to introduce a 0.2% levy on imports from non-African countries? Paragraph 3.47, page 32 The agreement is to introduce and agree om minimum rates to be adopted by "Under the EAC CM Protocol, member States are to harmonize all Partner States. Negotiations are ongoing on these minimum rates. their tax policies and related laws. A Policy on EAC Domestic Tax Harmonization was developed and endorsed by the finance Preferential tax rates for local spirits within the spirits category will still exist ministers during the 8th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Finance at least in the beginning, pending further discussion in the future. and Economic Affairs, held in May 2018. Detailed harmonization proposals for VAT and excise taxes are currently being developed."

Could the EAC advise when they envisage any harmonised rates for VAT and excise taxes to be introduced? Could the EAC confirm

WTO Member Questions Responses that any harmonised rate of excise tax will eliminate preferential tax rates for local spirits within the spirits category [2208] where applicable, e.g. in Tanzania [Table 3.4, page 273 of Annex 4 refers], and Uganda [Table A3, page 415 of Annex 5], in line with the national treatment rule in GATT Article III and existing, extensive WTO case law on spirits taxation? Given the pervasiveness of illicit trade in the EAC region (both smuggling and counterfeit) resulting in important revenue losses, potential health concerns for consumers and severe business damages for legal operators, could the EAC explain what steps they envisage to undertake to strengthen excise tax collection? Paragraph 3.60, page 34 Yes, the EPZ is still operational in Burundi. "The EAC countries have a number of export promotion tools in common, such as duty drawbacks, manufacturing under bonds, and Export Processing Zones (EPZs) (see Table 3.7). Goods benefiting from any of these schemes are destined primarily for export; their sale within the customs union is subject to the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 payment of applicable duties and charges. Domestic sales of goods produced by an EPZ company should not exceed 20% of its annual production."

-

"Table 3.7 - Overview of EAC's main export promotion schemes" 60

indicates that EPZs scheme is in place in Burundi. The EU would

- like to know if the Burundi EPZ is still operational? Paragraph 3.62, page 34 The EAC Export Promotion Strategy 2019-2023 is presently under preparation The Secretariat's report states that "The EAC countries and will be published as soon as the process is finalized. implemented their second Export and Investment Promotions Strategy (EIPA 2011-16)".

Could the EAC indicate when a new edition of the Strategy is to be published? Paragraph 3.69, page 35 Rwanda: "Proposals for standards and technical regulations are received by Almost all revised standards for alcoholic beverages are adopted, except two NSBs. […] The "Draft EAC Standard" goes through a 60-day public standards that are pending: DEAS (63&138), of the EASC/TC 007 Alcoholic comments stage. The Draft is then revised accordingly and sent to and non-alcoholic beverages, whereby partner states are to provide data such the NSBs. If accepted by all the NSBs, the Draft Standard is as test data and other relevant information for further discussion. Approved adopted and declared an "EAC standard" by the Council of Standards were published in the East African Gazette of 17th of August 2018 Ministers. Countries have six months to adopt the EAC standard as and were adopted. a national one. The maximum duration allowed for the completion - Approved and finalised standards are available on the RSB online catalogue of a standard project is 24 months, from the proposal stage to the and the national gazette. Both Draft EAS and DRS are notified to the WTO time of approval. As at 30 September 2018, the EAC catalogue secretariat through NSS and ePing Systems of the WTO included 1,526 standards, of which 1,007 are international." -One challenge during adoption is that some regional standards may deviate some national regulations. Could EAC members explain what the status of the revised EAC Standards for Alcoholic Beverages is, and whether these standards Kenya:

WTO Member Questions Responses have been fully transposed into their national legislation? If yes, • Most of the EAC standards for Alcoholic drinks have been revised and so could the final texts be notified and made available on the WTO far, Kenya has adopted all the revised standards TBT system? Please specify which challenges, if any have been • These standards will be notified to the WTO TBT committee by July 2019 faced to harmonize standards, particularly at the national level of implementation. Challenges • Institutional capacity challenges and budgetary constraints. • Weak participation by the industry players in standard settings.

Burundi: Once the standards for Alcoholic Beverages is agreed upon, we will proceed with notification and the processes of transposition into our national legislation.

Uganda: The aforementioned standards including; EAS 109:2018- Potable spirit — Specification, EAS 139:2018- Fortified wine — Specification, EAS 140:2018- Sparkling wine — Specification , EAS 141:2018- Whisky — Specification, EAS

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 142:2018- Vodka — Specification, EAS 143:2018- Brandy — Specification, EAS 144:2018- Neutral spirit — Specification, EAS 145:2018- Gin — Specification were gazetted as East African Standards by the EAC Secretariat

in August 2018. The remaining two standards; DEAS 63:2018, Beer — -

Specification and DEAS 138:2018, Still table wine — Specification are 61

currently under revision.

-

The seven standards gazetted by the EAC Secretariat are under consideration in Uganda for national adoption by the National Standards Council. When the standards are adopted by the National Standards Council, Uganda will issue addenda to the original notifications indicating how the texts of the standards may be obtained. 3.3.3 (Sanitary and phytosanitary measures), page 36 There are provisions in the draft EAC SPS Bill to establish a regional SPS In the past 12 months Kenya sent to the WTO about 80 SPS Committee that will be mandated to develop harmonized SPS Standards. Once notifications containing standards for a variety of foodstuffs. the SPS Act is enacted by the East African Legislative Assembly, WTO will be During the same period Uganda made about 60 such notifications, notified accordingly while the other 3 EAC countries made none or few.

Does the EAC have a strategy for developing harmonised SPS standards, and if so how are those standards notified to the WTO? Paragraphs 3.72 and 3.73, page 36 and paragraph 17, page 7 EAC harmonized SPS measures have already been adopted by the Council of The report affirms that Standards and technical regulations Ministers. However, implementation of the same is pending ratification of the regimes remain country-specific to large extent. The SPS Protocol by all Partner States. harmonization of SPS is important as the SPS is involved in the internal border clearance, which is one of the main factors contributing to the intra-EAC trade.

WTO Member Questions Responses Could EAC give a time indication as to when it plans to have harmonized SPS measures adopted and when those measures could be enforced? Paragraphs 3.75 and 3.76, page 27 The EAC Competition Authority has been strengthening the necessary "The EAC Competition Act of 2006 aims at promoting fair trade, infrastructure such as amendment of the Act in line with international best ensuring consumer welfare, and establishing the EAC Competition practices, and development of regulations, among others. Therefore, it has Authority. (…)" not commenced substantive enforcement of the Act. The enforcement of the "The EAC Competition Authority has jurisdiction over all mergers Act will commence in the financial year 2019/2020. The Authority will notify and enforcement matters that have cross-border effects. The the public by gazetting the date on which it will commence substantive commissioners were sworn in in November 2016." enforcement the Act.

Could the EAC provide additional details on the enforcement record of the Competition Authority (number and types of cases treated, type of decision taken, sectors concerned, etc.)? Paragraph 3.83, page 38 "Counterfeiting and piracy of trademarks and copyrights remain a serious challenge to IPR protection in the region. Efforts are being

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 made at the regional level to fight counterfeit and pirated products. An EAC Policy on Anti-Counterfeiting, which resulted in the Draft EAC Anti-Counterfeit Bill (2013), is being developed. The

Bill seeks to provide a legal framework for EAC members to -

prohibit trade in counterfeit goods." 62

- Could the EAC provide more detail about the efforts that are being made at regional level to fight counterfeit and pirated products, in particular regarding the alcoholic beverages/spirits sector? Could the EAC share more information about the proposed legal framework to prohibit trade in counterfeit goods? Paragraph 4.3, page 39 EAC has developed a Regional Agriculture Investment Plan (RAIP) that is "At the EAC level, the Sectoral Council on Agriculture and Food aligned to the continental CAADP agenda. The RAIP will be the main Security, a body made up of agriculture ministers, is responsible instrument for mobilizing resources to support implementation of various for all issues related to the sector. The main objective of the EAC programmes in the agricultural sector. in the agricultural sector is to achieve food security and a greater rationalization of production. Under the EAC Treaty, member countries are called upon to increase their agricultural productivity and output to reduce hunger and poverty, and to achieve food and nutrition security in the region. To this end, the EAC Agriculture and Rural Development Policy (EAC-ARDP) constitutes the main framework for interventions in the sector. It provides for detailed actions to be implemented over the period 2005-30."

The EU understands that the EAC-ARDP foresees the establishment of a Common Agricultural and Rural Development Fund (CARDF) to jointly run various programmes. The EU would like to know if the Fund has been created and what programmes have been jointly

WTO Member Questions Responses funded. What is the current stage of the implementation of the detailed actions provided by EAC Agriculture and Rural Development Policy (EAC-ARDP)? Paragraph 4.5, page 39 The ARIS Data base is fully operational, and it is hosted by AU-IBAR "In addition, the EAC has established two online systems (the regional Food Balance Sheet, and the Animal Resources Data Base), to facilitate information exchange, and to support evidenced- based decision-making about food stock availability and strategic investments in the livestock and fisheries sub- sectors."

Is the Animal Resources Data Base fully operational? Paragraph 4.8, pages 39 and 40 The fertilizer harmonization process has been initiated under AGRA support "The harmonization of the regulatory framework and procedures this year (2019). Currently, the EAC is in a process to procure a consultant for fertilizers is another priority area under the EAC-FSP. According who shall work on the assignment to the EAC Secretariat, a framework to guide the harmonization of EAC fertilizer instruments has been adopted. The process of

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 developing the related policy and legislation will be initiated in 2018."

The EU would like to know if the policy and legislation process -

have been initiated. If so, what is the main objective of the policy? 63

Paragraph 4.18, page 41

- "The Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) is responsible for the management of the lake's fisheries resources. It was established in 1994 by a convention between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda6, and has become a specialized institution of the EAC. Its objectives are to foster cooperation among the EAC countries, to harmonize national measures for the sustainable utilization of the resources, and to develop and adopt conservation and management measures. Fisheries management is undertaken through rounds of five-year fisheries management plans."

The EU would be interested to know what fisheries related actions are undertaken in regard to the Lake Tanganyika? What are the main challenges to the sustainable fisheries development in Lake Tanganyika? Paragraph 4.21, page 41 "The EAC Treaty calls for the harmonization of countries' mining regulations, in order to ensure environmentally-friendly and sound mining practices. Harmonization is a key component of the EAC's development strategy for the period 2011-16. The strategy calls upon member States to take measures to promote the development of strategic regional industries/value chains,

WTO Member Questions Responses including extractive and mineral processing, petrochemical and gas processing, and iron and steel."

The EU would be interested to know if there is a new, post-2016 framework related to mining in place? Paragraph 4.50, page 45 The hindrances to free movement of workers are being addressed through "In practice, the free movement of workers within the EAC is several initiatives. These include: - finalization of the Annex VII on Regulations restricted to selected highly-skilled workers, and craft and related for Mutual Recognition of Academic and Professional qualifications to trade workers. Free movement is further hindered by issues operationalize article 11 on MRAs. The already concluded MRAs (Accountants, relating to, inter alia, the mutual recognition of professional Engineers, Architects and Veterinarians) will be reviewed and brought to qualifications and experience, procedures for obtaining work conformity with the Regulations. permits, and the inconsistent quality of training institutions. The In regard to work permits, the Partner States are reviewing their legal EAC member States are currently amending their respective framework to harmonize work /residence permit fees. So far, the Republic of national policies, including laws and regulations, to conform to the Rwanda, Republic of Kenya and Republic of Uganda, have harmonized to zero, CM Protocol." And the requirement for payment of Work/Residence permit. The rest of the Paragraph 3.2, page 7 (WT/TPR/G/384) Partner States are in process to harmonizing the work/ Residence permit by "The citizens of EAC are at liberty to move freely across partner September 2019.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 states with additional rights of residence and establishment in line with the national laws of the respective partner states…" The processes for application of work/residence permit have been reviewed. The EAC Sectoral Council approved a harmonized application form for use by

The EU would like to know how the EAC Partner States address Partner States. The classification of work/residence permit categories is in -

this issue in order to ensure free movement of people. What are finals stages and may be completed in the near future. 64

the main challenges in this regard?

- Uganda: The main challenge is the harmonization of regulations and laws including divergence in administrative procedures. At the regional level, we are developing a monitoring tool for removal of restrictive barriers in free movement of service suppliers and workers. Annex 1 Burundi Burundi's specific measures to fight against poverty will come from sectoral action plans stemming from Burundi's National Development Plan 2018-2027 Paragraph 1.2, page 57 "Thanks to the Government's efforts in the health and education areas, the country's Human Development Index progressed from 0.298 in 2005 to 0.404 in 2015. However, the poverty rate remains high, and with some 72.9% of the population living below the poverty line in 2017, Burundi ranks 184th out of 188 countries on the Human Development Index."

The EU would be interested to know what specific measures has Burundi undertaken in combating the poverty? Paragraph 1.12 and 1.13, page 59 Implementation of Burundi's National Development Plan 2018-2027. "Burundi's National Development Plan 2018-2027 was officially launched on 22 August 2018..."

WTO Member Questions Responses "Structural and macroeconomic reforms were introduced under the programme supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) agreed with the IMF in January 2012…" Development cooperation will remain an important element in the Burundi economy in the coming years. What will Burundi do to ensure an optimal cooperation with development partners on the National Development Plan 2018-2027? What measures have been prepared to achieve the 10% growth rate targeted for 2027? Paragraph 1.27 and 1.13, page 61 Many actions have been taken by the Government to open the markets. The "In terms of destinations, the relative share of Europe (the main challenges lie in the private sector. As it is still weak, we need means to European Union and Switzerland in particular) declined strengthen the private sector. considerably, from 30.6% in 2012 to approximately 21.4% in 2017. At the same time Africa's share (and in particular the EAC countries) increased from 19.1% to 33.5%, and Asia's from 5.1% to 14.4%. In terms of individual countries, the United Arab Emirates remain the first destination for Burundi's exports, in spite of a sharp decline in their share between 2012 and 2017…"

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

According to the Table A1.3 (p. 106) the share of export to EAC countries declined considerably from 13.5% in 2012 (let alone

21.8% in 2015) to 7.7% in 2017. The EU would like to know what -

the main challenges for Burundi in the EAC intra-trade? 65

Paragraph 1.31, page 64 The energy sector is being developed in Burundi. Today, we did not have any

- more cuts as he had three years ago. In the short term (5 years), "In spite of the country's major assets, such as its considerable hydroelectric dams under construction will be completed and will provide an potential for tourism, the availability of certain raw materials for increase of more than 100% of electrical energy. These hydroelectric dams the agri-food industries, and the possibility of preferential access are among others: to the European and American markets and within the EAC, the -JIJI Murembwe: 50 megawatts level of FDI is below potential because of a business environment -Rusumo-Falls: 40 Megawatts hampered by high transaction costs resulting from unreliable -Mpanda Boot: 15 Megawatts energy, limited access to finance, high interest rates, and political Magara docking: 15 Megawatts and macroeconomic uncertainties." Kabu-16 Boot: 12 Megawatts Burundi-DRCongo-Rwanda Joint Boot: 30 Megawatts Burundi please elaborate on how the government plans to improve the general investment environment to attract more FDI and Photovoltaic energy in Mubuga: 7.5 Megawatts encourage more investments, in particular in the energy sector? Paragraph 2.12, page 66 The national strategy for industrial and commercial development is still valid. "… Burundi has a National Trade and Industrial Development The private sector must be strengthened to be self-propelled by this strategy. Strategy (SNDIC) which aims, among other things, to promote Burundian regional and world economic integration and create a business climate conducive to investment, to improved competitiveness and to private sector growth. However, the implementation of the strategy remains a challenge for the authorities."

WTO Member Questions Responses The EU would like to know if the strategy is still valid and if so, what are the main challenges in the implementation of it? Paragraph 2.13, page 66 and paragraph 4.15, page 87 As the European Union observes, Burundi has potential for export "Burundi has considerable export development potential, especially development in the sub-sectors of coffee and tea. For coffee the challenges in the coffee and tea subsectors..." thus raised are very true. "Coffee is still by far the biggest foreign exchange earner in Burundi, accounting for around 36% in 2016. About 800,000 As a solution to the problem of improving the profitability of coffee and households work in the coffee subsector. An area of some 60,000 countering the challenges facing this coffee crop, the Government has signed ha is devoted to coffee growing. The subsector continues to face an agreement with the World Bank for the implementation of a Sector huge challenges. There are generally large fluctuations in Competitiveness Support Project. Coffee (2017-2023). This project is facing production, owing in particular to weather conditions, soil erosion the challenges on coffee that concern, among others, the renewal of old coffee resulting from over-exploitation of the land without the possibility trees, the supply of fertilizers, quality control, strengthening skills and of its being left fallow, the ageing of the coffee trees, and conflict, capacities in this sector, etc. all of which is compounded by very limited access to suitable fertilizers." For tea, the Government is undertaking initiatives of this kind.

The EU would like to know what are the measures that are under

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 consideration, if any, by the government regarding the enhanced profitability of the coffee and tea –production sector given that coffee is one of the main sources of exports earnings?

Paragraph 3.10, page 73 Insufficient knowledge. Capacity building needs of customs assessors. -

"Burundi has not notified the WTO of its customs valuation 66

legislation. Nonetheless, in principle, customs valuation is based

- on Annex 4 of the EAC Customs Code. According to the authorities, the provisions in question are aligned with those of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement. However, the country continues to encounter implementation problems. The common problem in the area of customs valuation is the lack of capacity to detect under- valuations, which seem to be common."

The EU would like to know what measures Burundi consider undertaking to overcome the implementation problems? Paragraph 3.72, page 80 The law of competition dates from June 2010. It is true that the establishment "The Law provides for the creation of a competition commission to of the Commission on competition is slow to be in place. This interpellation will rule on violations of the law and impose sanctions, among other concern those responsible for its implementation in the coming months. tasks. It can be actuated by the Minister responsible for trade and business; and it also has freedom to act on its own initiative. However, its implementing decree has not yet been adopted; and, in practice, the Commercial Court deals with competition issues."

Could Burundi please provide additional information on when the competition commission will be established? Paragraph 3.98, page 84 The Law on Industrial Property in Burundi No. 1/13 is dated July 28, 2009. The civil and border measures that are taken include:

WTO Member Questions Responses "The most common IPR violations recorded in Burundi are -The closure of businesses and services that commit counterfeiting; counterfeiting, fraudulent imitation and forgery. The products falsification and other fraudulent practices; involved include pharmaceuticals, textiles, cosmetics, electrical and electronic goods and computer programs. Most of these items -The refusal of customs clearance of counterfeit goods and their destruction. seem to be imported. Weak enforcement of the sanctions provided for in the law and the low price of counterfeit products appear to be the main causes of intellectual property violations"

Could Burundi elaborate on the civil and border enforcement measures the enforcement and customs authorities can take against goods or services suspected of infringing an intellectual property right and against goods and services which were found to infringe an intellectual property right? Paragraph 4.47, page 90 A decree-law regulating fisheries and aquaculture was signed on 30 November "A national aquaculture development strategy has been in place 2016. Action plans and implementing texts for these regulations are in since 2010, centred on improving production systems, progress. The objective is the development of fisheries and aquaculture. strengthening support services and organizing the subsector.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 However, implementation seems to be facing enormous This will put an end to the difficulties and challenges encountered in difficulties; the authorities indicate that the process is underway, developing this sector. in particular as regards fish farming."

-

Could Burundi please specify what are the main difficulties and 67

challenges to fisheries sector. What measure has Burundi

- undertaken to overcome them? Paragraph 4.61, page 93 Burundi is seeking sufficient information to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Burundi "is reportedly preparing to submit Burundi's candidacy to and then begin accession. the Secretariat of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative."

Is Burundi planning to join EITI? If yes, when? Paragraph 4.109, page 99 A recovery study of the national airline is underway. "Burundi has one international airport (Bujumbura International Airport) and four national aerodromes…Traffic at Bujumbura Airport has been relatively stable since 2017, after decreasing slightly in 2015 and 2016."

The EU would like to know what measures Burundi consider improving the air transport and air connectivity of the country?

Annex 2 Kenya Yes. Since 2014, the NCIA has been operational. Paragraph 2.7, pages 120 and 121 The Secretariat's report states that "The Judiciary power is NCIA is an independent institution administered by a Board of directors drawn exercised through superior courts (Supreme Court, Court of from public and Private sector with a unique blend of competencies from the Appeal, and High Court); and subordinate courts (Magistrates' EAST Africa Region. It offers a neutral venue for the conduct of international Courts, Kadhi's Courts, and Courts Martial). The Supreme Court is arbitration with commitment to providing institutional support to the arbitral

WTO Member Questions Responses headed by the Chief Justice, who is appointed by the President. process. They are willing to explore opportunities of working with other Economic and commercial matters are dealt with primarily by professional bodies commercial courts. Labour matters are dealt with by the Kenyan Employment and Labour Relations Court. In 2013, Kenya established the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) as an alternative independent structure for international commercial arbitration. At the Kenya Revenue Authority, an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism has been established to handle tax disputes; it is operational."

Is the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) already operational in international mediation/arbitration? If not, please specify an approximate date of its entering into function.

Has the NCIA entered, or plans to enter, into collaboration agreements with other national or international arbitration institutions?

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Paragraph 2.15, page 123 The sectoral policies are as follows; The Secretariat's report states that "…The NTP is complemented by • Agricultural Transformation Strategy various sectoral policies". • Industrial Transformation

• Food Security and Nutritional Policy -

Could Kenya list these sectoral policies and clarify the relations • Kenya National Tourism Strategy 68

between the NTP and such policies in terms of coordination and • National Information, Communication and Technology Policy

- distribution of responsibilities? In particular, could Kenya clarify • National Livestock Policy the role of the "National Export Promotion and Development • Fisheries Policy Strategy" (NEDPS) in facilitating the implementation of the NTP? The Integrated Export Development and Promotion Strategy is a product of the National Trade Policy. The focus is to increase Kenya's exports in order to narrow the balance of trade deficit which has been expanding during the review period. Paragraph 2.20, page 123 We have had capacity challenges in meeting the notification requirements. At The Secretariat's report states that "…Notifications in many other the moment we are planning to put up elaborate mechanism for capacity areas remain outstanding. According to the authorities, efforts are enhancing for all agencies involved in the notification process. being made to submit the outstanding notifications". We appreciate the EU concern in the area of technical regulations. We also Could Kenya elaborate on what practical measures are being taken thank EU for the support to strengthen this area. We hope in future, we to tackle the problem, and if there is an indicative timeline? Could should be able to notify and allow for reasonable time before the technical Kenya ensure that – in the case of future technical regulations – it regulations comes into force. will refrain from providing for immediate entry into force in case a delay in notifications is expected? Paragraph 2.28, page 125 Most withholding taxes are final and hence already competitive. There are no The Secretariat's report states that "In addition to indirect taxes plans to revise them. collected at the border, the other main taxes collected by the national Government are: the 30% corporation tax (37.5% for non-resident companies); personal income tax, which is

WTO Member Questions Responses progressive, with five brackets (10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30%); and withholding tax, levied on a wide range of payments, at rates varying from 3% to 25%. Kenya reintroduced capital gains tax in 2015 after three decades of suspension. It applies to transfers of property (land, buildings and shares) at a rate of 5% of the profit or capital gain made during the transaction."

Has Kenya considered the possibility of lowering the withholding tax applied to non-residents companies so as to increase competition and efficiency in the market for services such as consultancy, training or management? Paragraph 2.30, page 125 The final destination of the products/services will be either EAC market or "In 2015, Kenya introduced a Special Economic Zones (SEZ) global. For the EAC, they will be subjected to full CET. regime, which is open to both manufacturers and service providers, unlike the Export Processing Zones regime, which is A policy for harmonization of SEZ has been developed and is under approval open to manufacturers only..." process by the EAC Council.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Could Kenya explain what the final destination of the products/services produced under the SEZ is? Is there a harmonization policy on SEZ at the EAC level?

Paragraph 3.1, page 127 The management board for the Kenya Fisheries Service has been gazetted and -

the Board is now fully operational 69

The Secretariat's report mentions the Kenya Fishery Service - among the agencies with whom the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) cooperates to enforce various imports and export controls.

Could Kenya provide information about the state of play of the

belated selection process of the Board Members of "Kenya Fishery Service"? The Secretariat's report also states that "... The National Regarding the National Electronic Single Window System Bill, public Electronic Single Window System Draft Bill is currently at the consultations were concluded, and the draft bill has been submitted to the stage of public consultation... " Ministry of Finance for submission to the National Assembly. The expected to Could Kenya provide some clarification regarding the foreseen be concluded soon. timeline of the public consultation? Could Kenya explain whether there are plans to increase the Article 232(1) (d) of The Kenya Constitution, 2010 provides that: The values transparency and predictability when introducing new measures and principles of public service include the involvement of the people in the for conformity assessment? process of policy making and (f) transparency and provision to the public of timely and accurate information. This is the guiding principle as far as transparency is concerned Paragraph 3.10, page 128 After a vibrant market surveillance, it was discovered that there are numerous sub-standard products in the market. This triggered prompt Government The Secretariat's report states that the Kenyan authorities use intervention to address the problem. pre-shipment inspection programme as a means to verify conformity with national standards and technical regulations. Several private institutions have been entrusted with operating the

WTO Member Questions Responses programme since 2015, issuing Certificates of Conformity (CoC), Kenya does not have any plans to change from the existing pre-shipment mandatory documents for customs clearance. "Since December programme, but has withdrawn the services of pre-shipment companies, 2015, the programme has applied to virtually all finished goods which failed to meet the expectation of the Government. imported into Kenya." Kenya is committed to the WTO TBT Agreement transparency principle and In late 2018, however, acceptance of the CoCs by the authorities will strive to ensure that her trade measures are compliant. was suspended without any advance notification, with Kenyan Bureau of Standards (KEBS) taking over the inspections and testing while complicating or blocking clearance of goods. In the period that followed, even importers of the high-quality goods from the EU suffered additional costs and losses. Since then, the policy change appears to be withdrawn. Would Kenya explain its future policy direction regarding pre-shipment inspections? Has it conducted any internal evaluation of the policy change, taking into account the need to balance compliance with the national standards and technical regulations (i.e. combating imports of substandard, fake or hazardous products) with the objective to

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 facilitate trade with high-quality, low-risk goods benefitting Kenyan customers? Does Kenya foresee any new safeguards that would prevent such far-reaching policy changes, taken without adequate

notification or consultation with the stakeholders, from occurring in -

the future again? 70

Could Kenya indicate whether they intend to review this measure The government is committed to facilitating trade while ensuring there is

- which is not trade facilitating and probably disproportionate as it compliance to technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment does not rest on risk management? Could Kenya explain whether procedures. Government is reviewing the best method to achieve this there are plans to increase the transparency and predictability objective without disrupting trade. when introducing new measures for conformity assessment? The Secretariat's report also states that the Kenyan Bureau of These are administrative powers granted to the standards body to make Standards (KEBS) "…may, at his own discretion, subject to such decisions on firms, which do not comply with procedures for importing goods consignments to a destination inspection at a fee pf 15% of their into Kenya. c.i.f. value." Could Kenya clarify what is meant by the expression "at his own Kenyan laws provide that, administrative decisions should be fair and discretion" exactly? proportionate. Officers are expected to make their decisions within this framework of the law. Could Kenya indicate which criteria are employed to avoid that such decisions result in discriminatory or disproportioned measures in relation to objectives pursued? Paragraph 3.13, pages 128 and 129 Customs clearance and customs controls in Mombasa is fully automated.

"Kenya's Northern Corridor which runs from the Port of Mombasa to the Ugandan border is a major route for cargos in transit to hinterland countries. Procedures and delays for cargos destined to other EAC countries such as Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda have been greatly facilitated with the implementation of the Single Customs Territory and the regional bond system. For these cargos,

WTO Member Questions Responses the importer is required to lodge the customs declaration in the destination countries. For goods in transit, customs duties are assessed at the first point of entry in Kenya. The Kenyan authorities release the cargo for transit once the payment is made in the country of destination. The cargo is monitored by a tracking system and remains under the regional bond system. Cargos in transit to other hinterland countries…continue to be regulated under the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Agreement…."

While Kenya's Northern Corridor is a major route for cargos in transit, it is also a major route for cargos entering Kenya as a final destination. Could Kenya elaborate how it plans to further automatize and speed up customs clearance and customs controls in Mombasa? Paragraph 3.35, page 131 An assessment has not been done, but there are plans to do so. "Under the excise duty regime, only licensed operators can import or manufacture excisable goods, or supply excisable services. To tackle the issue of illicit trade in alcoholic beverages, Kenya has put in

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Licences are granted by the KRA Commissioner for a duration that place the following; depends on the activity and product category. As an enforcement • Multi-Agencies approach on activities at the borders and Entry/Exit tool, licensed operators are required to affix excise stamps on points, such that different expertise and competencies are brought

every package of an excisable good. Stamp fees were adopted in together. -

2017." • Joint Patrols along Border-line, Entry. Exit points. 71

• Joint verifications of goods.

- Has Kenya made an assessment of the effectiveness of its excise • Pre-shipment inspection stamp regime in tackling illicit trade? Could Kenya explain what • Conducting daily intelligence driven Joint Patrols along Border-line, strategy it is planning to implement to tackle the issue of illicit Entry/Exit points. trade in alcoholic beverages which is reported to represent a huge • Profiling and targeting of premises and means of transportation used for fiscal loss for the government? smuggling activities. • Intelligence gathering and information sharing on smuggling cartels, smuggling routes and smuggling means. • Rummaging and searches on inbound Ships, aircrafts, buses, trucks and motor vehicles; including motor cycles. • Apprehension of those who seek to enter the country illegally, as well as seizures of contraband; • Contributions to disrupting the smuggling cycle through systematic delivery of consequences to those apprehended; • Joint raids with other government agencies e.g. KEBS, KEPHIS, Anti- counterfeit Agency, Immigration, CID, and Kenya Police on suspected premises. • Community engagement and sensitization of cross border traders and business community on the effects and consequences of smuggling. • Pre-Arrival Profiling of importers, exporters, clearing agents, passengers and porters • Punitive fines levied on persons/companies involved in smuggling.

WTO Member Questions Responses Paragraph 3.49, page 135 The process of merging is ongoing and the new agency is expected to be operational by end of 2019. The Secretariat's report states that "The Brand Kenya Board was established in 2008 to build and enhance the country's image and national identity…"

In light of the Cabinet's approval of the merger of "Export Promotion Council" and the "Brand Kenya Board" to create "Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency" (KEPROBA), could Kenya indicate an indicative timeline about the new Agency? Paragraphs 3.72 and 3.73, pages 138 and 139 Kenya is carrying out risk profiling of importers, products and countries.

"Kenya operates a pre-shipment inspection programme on the conformity of imported goods with applicable standards, specifications or regulations. For products not subject to Kenyan standards, the verification is carried out against the relevant international standards or those applicable in the country of origin.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Five companies are operating the verification programme on behalf of KEBS [the Kenya Bureau of Standards]. Each company is appointed for 36 months and has monopoly over inspection

activities in countries assigned to it by the authorities." -

"The verification may include: physical inspection of goods; 72

sampling, testing and analysis; audit of the production process;

- documentary check; and conformity assessment to Kenyan standards. The requirement was notified to the WTO in November 2015. Since December 2015, the verification programme has covered virtually all finished goods imported into Kenya…Goods manufactured in another EAC country are accepted based on the certification issued by the respective national standards bodies."

Has Kenya taken, or plans to take, any measures directed to reduce the uncertainty and costs resulting from the re-inspection foreseen in the Legal Notice No. 127, STANDARDS (INSPECTION OF IMPORTS) ORDER (dated 7 June 2018) considering the detrimental impact it has on trade flows and importers? If so, please specify. Paragraph 3.77, page 139 Kenya complies with the WTO Transparency requirements and therefore any "Kenya maintains labelling requirements for foodstuffs and changes regarding labelling requirements shall be notified through the WTO excisable goods. All foodstuffs must be labelled in English and/or secretariat. Swahili. […]" Due process will be followed to minimize the impact of these measures on Could Kenya confirm that any changes to either labelling trade. requirements or the excise stamp regime will be notified to the WTO TBT Committee and that they will not be unduly trade- restrictive?

WTO Member Questions Responses 3.3.3 (Sanitary and phytosanitary requirements), page 140 Kenya bases her requirements on OIE guidelines. At the last TPR in 2012 Kenya undertook to adapt its requirements regarding avian influenza and bovine spongiform encephalopathy to the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) recommendations.

Could Kenya confirm that it accepts poultry and beef products according to OIE recommendations, including those on regionalization and risk-free materials? Paragraph 3.90, page 141 In 2017/2018, the Authority investigated 15 restrictive trade practices cases, "Over the past years, the Authority has dealt with cases involving 13 of which were finalized and 2 are still under investigation. a range of sectors and activities, the most frequent being alcoholic beverages, air transportation, and telecommunication services. It For these cases, various remedial measures (decisions) were made including, also handled cases of exclusive agreements relating to alcoholic financial penalties and declaratory orders (compliance or non-compliance to beverages, education services and sports goods. CAK has not dealt the provision of the law) were imposed on different undertakings. with any import or export cartel." Exemptions applications. The authority received and evaluated 11 cases. 7

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Could Kenya please provide additional details on the enforcement exemptions applications were evaluated in the air transport, agriculture, retail, record of the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) (number and and professional services sectors. types of cases treated, type of decision taken, sectors concerned,

etc.)? Compliance of audit was carried out to ensure adherence to the Authority's -

decisions and the competition Act. 73

The summary of the sectors are as follows;

- 1. Advertising and market research (33%) 2. Manufacturing (27%) 3. Agriculture, forestry and fishing (13%) 4. Air transport (13%) 5. Vehicle tracking, security industry (7%) and 6. Petroleum and petroleum products (7%)

This information for various years is available on the Authority website.www.cak.go.ke Paragraph 3.94, page 142 In March 2015, Kenya adopted the Mwongozo Code of Governance for State "There is no overarching legal framework for the establishment Corporations and can be accessed at www.scac.go.ke/2015-02-16-09-56- and regulation of state-owned entities in Kenya. They are 36/mwongozo . established either under the State Corporation Act Cap 446, the Public Finance Management Act, or their individual enabling The key element of this code is to improve corporate governance of SOEs legislation…" (effectiveness of boards, transparency and disclosure, accountability, risk management, internal controls, ethical leadership, and good corporate Does Kenya intend to design a global legislation for SOEs that citizenship). increases the transparency of the regulation that affects these entities? Paragraph 3.100, page 143 The amendment of the Act to provide for the tribunal has been submitted to "The Privatization Act establishes a Privatization Appeals Tribunal Parliament awaiting approval to hear and determine appeals against privatization-related

WTO Member Questions Responses decisions. The Tribunal is not yet operational. During the review period, the legislation was amended twice to, inter alia, strengthen the governance of the Privatization Commission and take into account the newly enacted public-private partnership legislation."

What are the reasons for the delay in the implementation of the 2005 Privatization Act? Has Kenya elaborated any plan regarding its implementation and any indicators to monitor it? Paragraph 3.104, page 143 A retail harmonised code of practice was signed on 17 January 2019 between "According to the World Bank's Benchmarking Public Procurement the industry players. It provides for timelines for payments to suppliers. The scale, Kenya scores relatively high in the areas of bid opening, code of practice provides for self-regulation by the industry to be backed by evaluation and award; and content and management of the law. procurement contract. Areas of low performance include the delay for payments to suppliers (between 31 and 90 days)..." Has Kenya put in place procedures to monitor the timely payment to suppliers in accordance with existing regulations? Paragraph 3.3.7 (Intellectual property rights), page 145 The making available rights in Kenya are not limited to remuneration rights.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Could Kenya elaborate on what the exclusive rights of the performers and phonogram producers are in Kenya? In particular, The exclusive rights of a performer in Kenya include the right to; we would like to get a confirmation about the scope of the making • Broadcast his performance except where the broadcast is made from

available right and that it is not limited only to remuneration a fixation of the performance authorized by the performer; -

rights. • Communicate to the public his performance 74

• Make a fixation of a previously unfixed performance;

- Regarding Geographical Indications (GIs), could Kenya clarify what • Reproduce a fixation of the performance is the state of play of the draft GI Bill in Kenya? Could Kenya • Rent for commercial purposes to the public, the original and copies of indicate which Ministries/Agencies are competent (and their their fixed performances; respective competences) in respect of GIs? • Distribution of a fixation of his performance or copies thereof, to the public; • The making available to the public of his fixed performance, by wire or wireless means in such a way that members of the public may access them from a place or a time individually chosen by them

The exclusive rights of phonogram (sound recording) producers in Kenya include the right to; • Reproduction in any manner or form; or • Distribution to the public of copies by way of sale, rental, lease, hire, loan or any similar arrangements; or • Importation into Kenya; or • Communication to the public or the broadcasting of the sound recording in whole or in part either in its original form or in any form recognizably derived from the original.

Performers and producers of phonograms in Kenya also have moral rights independently their economic rights.

WTO Member Questions Responses Kenya has drafted a Geographical Indications Bill, 2018. It is to be forwarded to the Cabinet for approval

The Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI), currently under the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, administers the Trade Marks Act under which Geographical Indications (GIs) may be protected as collective marks. It is anticipated that KIPI will also administer the GIs bill once enacted into law.

Matters relating to counterfeiting of GIs, registered as collective marks under the Trade Marks Act, is the mandate of the Anti-counterfeit Agency (now Anti-counterfeit Authority) (ACA). Paragraphs 3.118 and 3.119, page 146 The amendments were passed by parliament and are reflected in the Statute "Trade in counterfeit goods is prohibited and can be prosecuted Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2018. They came into force in January under the Anti-Counterfeit Act, 2008. Established in 2010, the 2019. Anti-Counterfeit Agency was tasked with the mandate of combatting counterfeiting, trade in counterfeit goods and other related dealings. The legislation is being amended to increase the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 penalties and broaden its scope to include unbranded goods and labels." "Amendments to the Anti-Counterfeit Act are proposed in the

Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments), Bill 2018 and is in -

Parliament pending approval. The bill introduces a number of 75

changes such as: the possibility for a consumer to be a

- complainant on issues relating to intellectual property infringements, expansion of the meaning of counterfeiting to include counterfeit marks (such as labels), expansion of the powers of inspectors to investigate related offences, and introduction of new offences in relation to counterfeit marks."

When are the amendments to the Anti-Counterfeit Act likely to be adopted and when are they expected to enter into force? Paragraph 4.113, page 163 The Constitution of Kenya 2010, Article 36 (1) provides for fundamental "Under Kenya's Vision 2030, the manufacturing sector is projected freedoms of association and assembly. to be a major source of employment and wealth creation, contributing about 15% to GDP by 2020. In 2012, Kenya adopted an industrialization policy that aims at turning the country into a leading industrialized nation with a "robust, diversified and globally competitive manufacturing sector"…"

In the context of expanding economic growth and industrial sector, what efforts is Kenya making towards the ratification of the ILO fundamental Convention 87 on freedom of association and protection of the right to organise convention?

WTO Member Questions Responses Paragraph 4.130, page 166 Effective January 2017, commercial banks are issued perpetual licences which "The banking industry is regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya can only be revoked if they breach the regulations. (CBK) under the provisions of the Banking Act Cap 488. Banking business is subject to licensing by the CBK. Licences must be Only forex bureaus, micro finance institutions and money remittance providers renewed annually…" are still being issued with licences renewable annually. However, the CBK is reviewing the micro finance act to enable them to get perpetual licenses as Considering that banking licences must be renewed annually, has well. Kenya considered to implement a longer duration for banking licences taking into account the negative impact that this short duration has on the sector? Paragraph 4.137, page 167 The objective of this legislation is to allow the EAC citizens to participate in the National "legislation requires that at least one-third of ownership insurance industry which private investors would not be keen to do so. of any insurance company be held by EAC citizens." This would seriously limit foreigners' willingness to invest in the financial Revision of legislation may be considered if the business environment sector of Kenya with consequent reductions of foreign investment necessitates. in this economic sector.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Would Kenya consider revising this legislation? Paragraph 4.139, page 167 The current provisions of the law are serving the country and the region well. Consideration for revision may be considered if circumstances warrant.

"There are four reinsurance companies: Kenya Reinsurance -

Company (Kenya Re) which is 60% owned by the Government; 76

Zep Re (PTA Insurance Company), which is owned by the 19

- COMESA member countries; Africa Reinsurance Company (Africa Re), which is owned jointly by African countries; and Africa Trade Insurance Agency (ATI). Kenya Re, Zep Re, and Africa Re receive mandatory cessions of respectively 20%, 10%, and 5% of all reinsurance business in Kenya…" This might seriously limit Kenyan insurers to benefit from potentially lower prices and expertise from foreign reinsurers which will ultimately harm the national insurance sector.

Would Kenya consider revising this legislation? Paragraph 4.140, page 168 QN 72 "Fraud seems to be prevalent in the insurance industry: about 40% of insurance claims are fraudulent. In 2011, IRA [the Insurance Regulatory Authority] established a fraud unit to investigate and prosecute fraudulent activities. In Kenya, third- party liability insurance for automobile, vessels and aircrafts are mandatory."

Has there been a decrease in the number of fraudulent claims since its establishment in 2011? Paragraph 4.142, page 168 The two institutions are distinct with specific mandates.

WTO Member Questions Responses "Under the 2030 Vision, the Government aims at establishing The Nairobi International Financial Centre (NIFC) is aimed at establishing Nairobi as a leading international financial centre in Sub-Saharan Kenya as a regional financial services hub both expanding Kenya's access to Africa. The Nairobi International Financial Centre [NIFC] was international finance and leveraging the growth potential of the sector. established in 2014 through an executive order. The Nairobi Financial Act, 2017 provides for a legal framework to facilitate and The NIFC Authority (NIFCA) was established in 2014 as a dedicated agency support the development of an efficient and globally competitive with a legislative basis provided through the Nairobi International Financial financial services sector that generates high levels of national Centre Act, 2017. savings and investments through the establishment of the Nairobi International Financial Services Authority (NIFSA). NIFSA is in the The Central Bank of Kenya is established under Article 231 of the Kenya process of being operationalized. The next steps involve Constitution 2010. It spells out the functions of CBK and takes note that it development of a strategy, creation of a one–stop shop for shall not be under the direction or control of any person or Authority in incorporation, and developing the strategic incentives aimed at exercising its powers. attracting investors and marketing of NIFC." NIFC is established under An Act of parliament with distinct functions. What is the interaction, if any, between the functions performed by the Nairobi International Financial Services Authority (NIFSA) and the Central Bank of Nairobi (CBK)? Is there a clear definition of the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 functions of each of these institutions to avoid any overlaps between them? Annex 3 Rwanda • The Government of Rwanda is in the process of appointing the

Management of RICA in order for RICA to be operational -

Paragraph 3.68, page 209 77

The report says that although Rwanda enacted a Competition and

- Consumer Protection law in 2012, it is yet to establish an operational competition authority. Additionally, it says that Rwanda is currently working on the establishment of a Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (RICA).

Could Rwanda please provide additional information on when the RICA can be expected to be established? Paragraph 3.72, page 209 The statement is not true; Government intervention doesn't harm any private "…state involvement remains prevalent in many sectors of the entrepreneur as it is explained in Annex 3 on Rwanda report. In addition economy and, in some cases, continues to crowd out private Rwanda believes in a private led economy and provide a level playing field. entrepreneurs…"

Could Rwanda please clarify if state owned or state linked enterprises are hampering the activities of private businesses? Does the law provide sufficient possibility for private businesses to seek redress, if they find that state-owned, or linked businesses have unfair advantage or abuse a dominant position?

Paragraph 3.105, page 215 Law No. 31/2009 OF 26/10/2009 on the Protection of Intellectual Property "Penalties for abuse of an industrial property title include a fine of Rights allows customs authorities (upon application by a rights holder, or on between RWF 50,000 and RWF 500,000, a maximum term of its own initiative) to suspend customs clearance procedures and prevent

WTO Member Questions Responses imprisonment of five years, or both. Theft or fraudulent use of a release of goods into free circulation if there is sufficient prima facie evidence formula of invention in any industrial activity is punishable by that the importation of counterfeit trademark goods is taking place or imprisonment of between one and five years, and a fine of five to infringing upon a protected rights owner or is imminent. There are ten times the value of profits obtained from the infringement." administrative procedures that allow the suspension to be temporarily lifted and for an investigation to be carried out. Could Rwanda elaborate on the civil and border enforcement measures the enforcement and customs authorities can take Additionally, judicial authorities may, upon being satisfied that an applicant's against goods or services suspected of infringing an intellectual IP rights are being infringed, order customs authorities to carry out any of the property right and against goods and services which were found to following actions: infringe an intellectual property right? a) the suspension of release into free circulation of the infringing goods; b) the extension of the period of suspension of release into free circulation of such goods taken by customs authority; c) the disposal of such goods outside the Rwanda channels of commerce; d) the destruction of such goods. These actions do not apply to either personal items or goods in transit. Additionally, decisions made by customs or judicial authorities are subject to

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 appeal. Paragraph 4.2, page 216 1. Increase on-farm productivity sustainably "Rwandan agriculture is still dominated by non-mechanized, rain- 1.1. 'Horizontal zoning' of crops and livestock based on their comparative

fed, subsistence farming. Although Rwanda has made significant advantage and on an evidence-based understanding of local conditions (soil, -

progress in land tenure regularization and administration, its climate etc.); 78

scarce arable land (estimated at 12,642 km2) and ownership 1.2 Promote the adoption of integrated soil fertility management which

- fragmentation (average plot size of 0.6 ha) continue to limit the combines agri-environmental practices, resource recovery and reuse of possibilities to exploit economies of scale, thereby discouraging fertilizer-enriched products through incorporating manure, crop residues and investment in mechanization. Vulnerability to soil erosion, composting in current farming systems; exacerbated by Rwanda's topography and exposure to periodic 1.3 Support the increase in organic fertilizer production and utilization training weather-related shocks, also remains a major limiting factor. In as part of ISFM practices in conjunction with the gradual liberalization of addition, the agriculture sector's productivity is hampered by, inter fertilizer supply; alia, infrastructure deficiencies, limited availability of inputs 1.4 Promote Integrated Pest Management technologies to control pests and (seeds, fertilizer and agricultural machinery) and tailored diseases. Natural pest control mechanisms are promoted to the extent possible, agricultural finance products, and imperfect agricultural commodity with the least possible disruption to the markets and value chains." agro ecosystem, and train farmers in safe pesticide handling and risks associated with pesticide use; What is Rwanda doing to increase the productivity in the 1.5 Build local private sector led seed systems by facilitating access to irrigation, agricultural sector? seed conditioning and storing capacity; 1.6 Support production and use of soil specific fertilizer blends; 1.7 Facilitate access to inputs by promotion of use of seed and fertilizers by increasing agro-dealership networks; 1.8 Promote saving for input mechanisms and value chain integration; 1.9 Promote and support production of high value commodities.

2. Address land fragmentation 2.1. Zoning and protecting agriculture land, which requires close coordination at decentralized levels. This will be based on detailed land-profiling to determine

WTO Member Questions Responses use and potentials of the land; 2.2. Gazetting agriculture land using the Agriculture Land Information System (ALIS), by ensuring plots to be registered and entered on the ALIS platform; 2.3. Encourage farmer cooperation and cooperatives to improve productivity, increase production and commercialization and address the challenge of land fragmentation; 2.4. Develop policy interventions on strengthening the legal and enabling environment in order to improve (formal) land market participation in rural areas, especially through leasing; 2.5. Encourage high value commodity production on smaller plots; 2.6. Promote sustainable land husbandry practices to address soil erosion and degradation. 2.7. Continue efforts on terracing while involving the local communities; 2.8. Encourage use of a wide range of cost-effective erosion control solutions such as structures: check dams, soils/water detention trenches, cut off drains, waterways; erosion control measures: tree belts, contour belts, grass strips, contour bunds, planting of fodder grasses on bunds/ridges, use of permanent,

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 perennial vegetation on contours, etc.; and agro-forestry: intercropping, integration of trees on farm plots, tree belts, protective forests, food production and nitrogen fixing, erosion control, etc.

-

3. Promoting Irrigation and Sustainable Water Management 79

3.1. Increase the area under irrigation;

- 3.2. Promote private sector- led models of irrigation scheme management and establish maintenance fee collection; 3.3. Attract Private sector and external finance for irrigation development; 3.4. Support efforts to increase the capacity of on-farm water harvesting, storage, and use; develop groundwater and improve drainage and flood management.

4. Promote high-value diversified agriculture 4.1. Promote labour-intensive yet high-value sector development e.g. horticulture; and diversified high value crops; 4.2. Expand the range of traditional export crops (coffee and tea) by diversifying into specialty crops for export. Annex 4 Tanzania Under the current review period, the clearance time have reduced to 9.4 days for ports and 3 days at airport. This has happened due to the following: Paragraph 3.5, page 267 • The introduction of the Tanzania Customs Integrated System (TANCIS) "There have been no significant improvements in customs which simplified the clearing process. The system has been linked to clearance times during the review period and, in some cases, some OGDs responsible for clearing goods; deterioration has occurred. For example, the average time to clear • Port expansion to reduce congestion; goods through Dar es Salaam port increased from 9 to 11 days • Operationalization of One Stop Border Post (OSBP) and Single Customs during the review period. This can be attributed to changes in Territory; and moving from an outside company to insourcing all customs • 24/7 hours' workings at all point of entries. processing, larger volumes of trade, and more goods in transit."

WTO Member Questions Responses Could Tanzania provide reassurance to importers that customs procedures and clearance times will improve in the near future, and how do they expect this improvement to be achieved? Paragraph 3.69, page 282 The Government is studying the impact (advantages and disadvantages) of "The Act provides that all commercial activities and bodies are FCA on sectors that are currently included. Should the facts dictate the need subject to its provisions, including state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to extend the scope of the FCA to sectors that are currently excluded, then the engaged in commerce. Although state enterprises are covered, Government (everything else given) may potentially decide to do so. they are not liable for penalties or offenses under the Act. The FCA does not control anti-competitive practices in a number of sectors where there is a regulator. These include the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) for the energy and water sectors; the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA) for surface and marine water transport; the BOT for banking services; the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority for civil aviation; and the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority for electronic and postal matters."

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Does Tanzania envisage to extended penalties or offenses under the Act to SOEs? Does Tanzania envisage to extend the scope of the FCA to sectors that are currently excluded?

Paragraph 3.73, page 283 Number of applications dealt with from January 2018 to date is 78. Among -

"The number of cases regarding competition over the review which 56 approved without conditions, 5 approved with conditions, and 17 80

period was 25. There has been a steady rise in the number of ongoing mergers. The major five (5) sectors under acquisitions are:

- merger applications dealt with, rising from 24 in 2012 to 61 in (i) Energy and Petroleum sector; 2017." (ii) Telecommunications; (iii) Banking sector; Could Tanzania provide additional details on the enforcement (iv) Insurance; and record of the Fair Competition Commission (FCC) (number and (v) Manufacturing. types of cases treated, type of decision taken, sectors concerned, etc.)? Paragraph 3.95, page 288 In Tanzania, the Plant Breeders' Rights (PBR) Office started the initiatives to "The new legislation in 2012 on plant breeders' rights for the align its Act with the UPOV system by putting in place a law which is Mainland created a new and independent protection system for compliance to the UPOV Convention of 1991. plant varieties that were not registrable under the Patents Act. It establishes a Plant Breeders' Rights Registry for the granting of Conditions of protection: The protection of varieties under the PBR Act plant breeders' rights and for the facilitation of the transfer and 2012 is applied to all plant genera and species: licensing of plant breeders' rights. It also sets out criteria or (a) The breeder's right shall be granted with respect to a variety which is conditions for varieties that may be protected. The Zanzibar Plant new, distinct, uniform and stable; Breeders Rights Act, 2014 mirrors the Mainland's Act, and basically (b) The grant of the breeder's right shall not be subject to any further or contains the same or similar provisions." different conditions, provided that the variety is designated by a denomination which be its generic designation and no rights in the Could Tanzania explain how the new protection system of new designation registered as the denomination of the variety that shall plant varieties works in Tanzania? We would like to get more hamper the free use of the denomination in connection with the variety information in particular about the preconditions to get protection even after the expiration of the breeder's right. The applicant complies for a new plant variety, the scope of protection and if Tanzania

WTO Member Questions Responses applies the breeder's exception and the farmers' privilege and if it with the formalities provided for under this Act and that he pays the does, what the scope of these exceptions is. required fees; (c) Shall enable the variety to be identifiable; (d) Shall not be liable to mislead or to cause confusion concerning the characteristics, value or identity of the variety or the identity of the breeder; (e) Shall be different from every denomination which designates, in the territory of any member of international organization dealing with plant breeders rights matters to which Tanzania is a party, an existing variety of the same plant species or of a closely related species; and (f) May not consist solely of figure except where this is an established practice for designating varieties.

Furthermore, the breeder's right shall be granted with respect to: Novelty. The variety shall be deemed to be new if at the date of filling of the application for a breeder's right, propagating or harvested materials of the variety has not been sold or otherwise disposed off to any person by or with

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 the consent of the breeder for the purposes of exploitation of the variety: a) in the territory of the United Republic of Tanzania, earlier than one year before the date of filling the application, b) in a territory other than that of the United

Republic of Tanzania: i) earlier than four years; or ii) in the case of trees or -

vines, earlier than six years before the said date. 81

- Distinctness: A variety shall be deemed to distinct where it is clearly distinguishable from any other variety whose existence is a matter of common knowledge at the time of filling of the application

Uniformity: A variety shall be deemed to be uniform if, subject to the variation that may be expected from the particular features of its propagation, it is sufficiently uniform in its relevant characteristics Stability: A variety shall be deemed to be stable, where its relevant characteristics remain unchanged after repeated propagation or in the case of a particular cycle of propagation, at the end of each cycle.

Additionally, the application is accompanied by a fee prescribed in the PBR regulation 2018 (USD 200) The scope of protection:

1) The breeder's right granted under PBR Act 2012 shall expire after twenty years from the date of the grant except for trees and vines whose breeder's right shall expire after twenty-five years from the date of grant.

WTO Member Questions Responses 2) The term may be extended for an additional five years, by a written notice to the registrar given by the holder of the breeder's right six months before the expiration of the original term.

Tanzania applies the breeder's exception and farmers' privilege with the following conditions in which the breeder's right shall not extend to:

(a) Acts done privately and for no-commercial purposes; (b) Acts done for experimental purposes; and (c) Acts done for the purpose of breeding other varieties

In addition, the breeders rights shall not extend to a farmer who, within reasonable limits and subject to safeguarding of the legitimate interests of the holder of the breeder's right, uses for propagating purposes on his own holding, the product of the harvest which he has obtained by planting on his own holding, the protected variety or a variety that is essentially derived from the protected variety where the protected variety is not itself an essentially

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 derived variety. Paragraphs 4.68, 4.69 and 4.70, pages 310 and 311 The Secretariat's Report refers to possible restrictions based on

the "Natural Wealth and Resources Act", "Natural Wealth and -

Resources Contracts Act", Written Laws Act" (2017), the "Local 82

Content Regulations"/Mining Act (2018) and "Mining regulations"

- (2016/2018). "The Government may render existing mining contracts null and void". These requirements referred to above distinguish between enterprises owned by Tanzania and by foreigners. Could Tanzania guarantee that discriminatory provisions of its national law will not be applied? Paragraph 4.114, page 327 The requirement for two-thirds local ownership and control of insurance Important changes were introduced in 2017 to the Insurance Act brokers is aimed at enhancing the participation of Tanzanians in the insurance including the requirement that insurance brokers be at least two- sub-sector. Prior to this change, the requirement was one-third local thirds owned and controlled by Tanzanian citizens (previously it ownership – which has worked fairly well. There are no evidences that the was one-third). This would seriously limit foreign companies' increased ratio of local ownership and control of insurance brokers has willingness to invest in the financial sector of Tanzania with reduced foreign investment in the insurance sector. The Government is consequent reductions of foreign investment in this economic studying the impact of the increased requirement and may consider reversing sector. the change, should the facts dictate the need to do so.

Would Tanzania consider reversing this recent change? However, in the event there is a serious investor who desires to establish an insurance broking firm in Tanzania and has a difficulty in complying to the two-thirds local ownership requirements, Section 140 of the Insurance Act empowers the Minister of Finance to grant an exemption to such an investor from complying to the said requirement if he considers it to be in public interest, and subject to any terms and conditions he may think fit to impose

WTO Member Questions Responses Paragraph 4.115, page 327 The main objective of the said Circular is to address key challenges in A new circular was issued in 2017 which put in place new reinsurance dealings within the industry which include, but not limited to, the restrictions on foreign reinsurers and reinsurance brokers. The following aspects: main provisions of the circular are amongst others that all foreign (i) Excessive use of International Facultative Reinsurance Arrangements even reinsurance arrangements are subject to prior approval by the in situations and cases which could safely be accommodated under Treaty Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA) whereby insurers Reinsurance Arrangements; seeking to externalise an insurance risk must first attempt to use the services of locally registered insurance brokers. The circular (ii) 100% externalization (fronting) of risks which could partly be retained also introduces an additional levy for facultative placements locally; outside the country. This might seriously limit Tanzanian insurers to benefit from potentially lower prices and expertise from foreign (iii) Poor involvement of local insurance companies in participating in assuming reinsurers which will ultimately harm the national insurance sector. parts of risks intended to be externalized through co-insurance arrangements; Would Tanzania consider reversing this recent change? (iv) Dealing with poorly rated or unrated foreign reinsurers;

(v) Dealing with un-accredited reinsurance companies and reinsurance

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 brokers (whose legal and financial standing is unknown); and (vi) Concealing of ultimate destination of reinsurance premium payments through the use of reinsurance brokers or a series of reinsurance brokers.

-

So far, the provisions of the Circular have worked well having enabled the 83

Government to reduce irregular reinsurance practices in the market whilst

- providing a conducive environment for the prudent and financial sound reinsurance companies and brokers (both foreign and local) to participate in the Tanzania insurance business. The Government is not planning to reverse the requirements of the Circular. Table A1.3, page 342 and table A1.6, page 345 The merchandise exports from Switzerland rose from 304,642.7 Tshs in 2015 to 414,033.9 Tshs in 2017 Could you please explain some changes in trade such as: a) the variations in merchandise exports to Switzerland between 2015 Exports from Viet Nam and 2017? b) the recent increase in merchandise exports to The merchandise exports rose from 138,425 in 2015 to 699,593.4 in 2017 Vietnam? c) the steady decline in merchandise exports to China between 2014 and 2017? d) the variations in merchandise imports Exports from China from India between 2014 and 2017? The merchandise exports declined from 645.9 in 2015 to 142.3 in 2017

Variation in Merchandise imports from India was 2,147.6 in 2015 to 1,408.1 in 2017 Annex 5 Uganda Given the current projections the country is unlikely to achieve this target next year. A new target will be set and included in the next National Development Paragraph 1.5, pages 357 and 358 Plan (NDPIII) which is currently under preparation.

"The Ugandan economy continued expanding during the 2011-17 period, with real GDP growth averaging 4.5% per year. Over the same period, per capita GDP increased from USD 732 to USD 773

WTO Member Questions Responses in real term. According to the authorities, Uganda envisions graduating from LDC to a lower middle-income country by 2020, and to an upper middle-income country by 2040. Economic growth slowed to an annual rate of 2.6% in 2016, due to drought that adversely affected agricultural production and agro-processing; the spillover from regional conflict also had a negative impact on growth. With weather conditions improving, the GDP annual growth rate bounced back to 5.1% in 2017." The EU notes that Uganda plans to graduate from LDC to lower middle income status by 2020 (i.e. next year). The EU would like to know whether the government plans to review this goal and, if yes, what the new targets would be. Paragraph 1.7, page 358 Debt Sustainability: Uganda's debt remains sustainable with nominal debt to "Trade-related taxes are the major source of" Ugandan "revenue. GDP of 41.5%, projected to remain sustainable in the medium to long term. In FY2016/17, taxes collected at the border accounted for 42% of Debt levels are comfortably below the operational thresholds of 50% debt to total revenue. The risk of debt distress remains low. According to GDP, and significantly below the sub-Saharan average (45.4% debt to GDP). the IMF, Uganda's debt is projected to peak at 42% of GDP in It is envisaged that Uganda's economy will sustain its debt levels, given that

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 FY2019/20, when the scaling-up of infrastructure investment is Government has prioritized: - completed." (i) Enhanced domestic revenue efforts. Through a comprehensive However, according to the most recent IMF (article I) consultation Domestic Revenue Mobilization strategy (DRMS), Government aims to

debriefing held in Kampala, IMF revised upward the estimate of raise the revenue to GDP ratio by 0.5% annually. -

Uganda debt as a share of GDP at 49.5% in 2020, increasing the (ii) The increase in domestic revenue will provide Government with 84

risk of debt distress. the additional resources for financing development projects and

- service its debt obligations annually, without actually adjusting taxes The EU would like to know how Uganda intends to contain these rates, such as import duties, VAT or indirect domestic taxes; rising debt levels and whether there are plans to increase import (iii) Borrowing for mainly infrastructure projects to address current duties, VAT and indirect domestic taxes? infrastructure gap (Transport, Energy, Industrial Infrastructure and Water for Production); (iv) Investment in export-oriented areas to boost exports in order increase forex inflow and enable servicing of forex debt. (v) Improved loan absorption by strictly adhering to the loan approval processes i.e. project preparation, negotiation and approval; (vi) Selective and strategic financing options to minimize financing risks, with preference given to concessional financing; and (vii) Uganda's development agenda is guided by high National priorities with expected high economic returns, as identified in the National Development Plan. Paragraph 2.18, page 367 The question talks about Tanzania enterprises and therefore Uganda thought it The Secretariat's report states that "All investment projects are was not meant for our response. However, if this for Uganda's response, we subject to investment licensing requirements by the UIA [Uganda wish to respond as follows: Uganda being an LDC welcomes foreign direct Investment Authority]. In practice, a threshold of USD 100,000 is investment that contributes to technology transfer, employment, increased applied to foreign investors and USD 50,000 to local investors. A export earnings and thereby contributing to economic development of our local investor is defined as a company in which the local partner country. This is in line with the aspirations of the WTO and the UN. Besides holds more than 50% of the shares. The licence is issued within this, there are generous incentives for foreign investors who meet the three days at no cost. Pursuant to Section 13 of the Investment qualification requirements in the Investment Code law 2019.

WTO Member Questions Responses Code, foreign investors may be subject to a number of performance obligations (not imposed on national counterparts) as a condition for granting an investment licence. These include foreign exchange earnings, staff training and local employment, technological transfer, contribution to socio-economic development, and other obligations that the UIA may consider relevant for meeting the objectives of the Investment Code (e.g. investment size and environmental protection).

These requirements referred to above distinguish between enterprises owned by Tanzania and by foreigners. Could Uganda guarantee that discriminatory provisions of its national law will not be applied? Paragraph 3.80, page 379 Uganda appreciates the EU for the generous support in addressing SPS under The EU notes that a significant number of fruits and vegetables the EPA-TAPSS, QUISP and Mark-Up project. Out of these we have developed exports to the EU have been rejected due to non-compliance of SPS policy, trained farmers and exporters, undertook regulatory food safety requirements. improvements. We look forward to continued cooperation under the auspices

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 of the SPS Agreement, Article 9. The EU would like to know which measures have been taken or will likely be taken to strengthen the capacities of Crop Protection

Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and -

Fisheries (MAAIF) to ensure adequate Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary 85

standards for exports, notably to the EU.

- Paragraph 3.81 and 3.82, page 379 The Bill is before Cabinet for approval and submission for Parliamentary "Uganda has no national legislation to regulate competition or anti- debate. trust cases. (…)" "Bills for a competition law and a consumer protection law have been drafted but have not yet been debated in the legislature."

Could Uganda provide additional information on when the competition law is expected to be adopted? 3.3.3 (Sanitary and phytosanitary requirements), page 378 Yes, we conform to OIE recommendations on bovine spongiform encephalopathy. However, we are cognisant of Article 3.3 of the SPS Could Uganda confirm that it accepts beef products according to Agreement. OIE recommendations on bovine spongiform encephalopathy? Paragraph 3.119, page 384 Civil claims against infringement can be brought to the Magistrate's Courts or "The Commercial Court is responsible for hearing IP cases, High Court Commercial Division depending on the pecuniary values involved. including by artists and musicians in Uganda's Performing Arts Remedies include injunctions, damages, account of profits, and forfeiture and Rights Society. The UNBS, the URA, and the Uganda Police Force destruction of infringing material. (UPF) are responsible for enforcing the law on IP. In 2016, the Regarding border measures, a trademark owner who has reasonable grounds URSB, in cooperation with the UPF, established the Intellectual for suspecting that some goods being imported bear an infringing trademark Property Enforcement Unit. The Unit's role is the enforcement of or that importation may take place, may lodge an application in writing with the law against trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. It is the court or Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) for the suspension by the reported that the enforcement efforts are constrained by customs department of the release into free circulation of the goods. The inadequate resources and funding."

WTO Member Questions Responses Could Uganda elaborate on the civil and border enforcement description of the infringing goods must be sufficiently detailed to enable their measures the enforcement and customs authorities can take recognition by URA. against goods or services suspected of infringing an intellectual property right and against goods and services which were found to infringe an intellectual property right? Table A1.3, page 410 and table A1.4, page 411 a) The surge in merchandise exports to UAE is on account of Gold exports whose export revenue increased significantly over the past 5 years after the Could you please explain some changes in trade such as: a) the establishment of the African Gold Refinery in Uganda. UAE is the main export surge in merchandise exports to the United Arab Emirates between destination of Ugandan gold. The value addition on unrefined gold attracted 2015 and 2016? b) the steady decline in merchandise imports better international prices making Gold the second highest foreign exchange from India between 2013 and 2017? earner by 2016, after coffee. However, in 2018, Gold was the leading foreign exchange earner, surpassing coffee.

b) The steady decline of merchandise imports from India between 2013 to 2017 could be attributed to the entry of China in the Ugandan market. During the past three years, imports from China steadily increased from USD 886.2 million in 2016 to USD 986.0 million in 2017 and

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 USD 1,184.2 million in 2018, making China the leading source of Ugandan merchandise imports. Meanwhile, the imports from India continued to plummet over the same period. Uganda imports mainly capital and finished

goods from these two countries, where Chinese products could be preferred -

substitutes for the Indian products on account of affordability/favourable 86

prices.

- WT/TPR/G/384 – Report by the East African Community The recent data on FDI is contained in the EAC Trade and Investment Report 2017 which can be downloaded from the EAC website www.eac.int Paragraph 2.1, page 4 Regarding investment, could the EAC provide recent data on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): 1) FDI investment flows (inward and outward); 2) Intra-EAC Investment Flows; 3) Employment creation linked to FDI inflows; 4) Sectoral distribution of FDI inflows in the EAC; 5) Sources of FDI. Paragraph 2.18, page 5 "Burundi's external debt rose by 2.7%, to USD 440.5 million in 2017 from USD 429.1 million in 2016…"

Could Burundi provide information on external debt as a percentage of national GDP and the development of the external debt in the recent years? Paragraph 2.19, page 6 The report states that external debt has increased in the region, notably in Kenya, where its total public debt increased from USD 35.8 billion in 2016 to USD 42.5 billion in 2017 and its external debt stock increased from USD 17.8 billion (25 % of GDP) in the

WTO Member Questions Responses fiscal year 2016 to USD 22.1 billion in 2017 (representing about 29.6 % of GDP). Paragraph 2.26, page 7 "The EAC is making strides in promoting regional value chains to boost production and grow EAC's trade values."

Could Burundi provide information on what has been achieved in this regard in the mid-term of the Strategy EAC implementation? An increase in the level of external debt appears to be quite Yes, the development in infrastructure have commensurate returns on the significant, particularly in the case of Kenya. These trends appear GDP whereby Transport and communication sectors are among the leading to be at least partially caused by debt-financed infrastructure sectors generating foreign exchange in the economy. spending. Does Kenya expect any stimulus effect on the productive sectors of the economy, improving its competitiveness? If so, can The borrowing has been done for infrastructure development, which I critical Kenya estimate any sectoral effect, including overall effect on for the economic development of the country. It is expected that efficient trade balance? infrastructure will stimulate the productive sectors of the economy to generate sufficient and competitive goods and services for export, which will ultimately improve the balance of trade.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Paragraph 3.5, pages 7 and 8 The third Medium Term Plan is aimed at transforming lives by advancing The report states that Kenya´s vision 2030 aims to drive the socio-economic development in Kenya. country towards sustained high levels of inclusive economic growth

and attainment of middle-income country status by the year 2030. The Plan's achievements will be evaluated through a mid-term review (2020) -

Based on the three "pillars", economic, social and political and end-term review by the year 2022. 87

transformation, the Vision is being implemented in successive,

- five-year Medium-Term Plans, first plan covered period 2008 – 12, second phase was 2013 – 17 and the third phase covers 2018–22.

With respect to the Kenya´s Vision 2030, can Kenya provide more details regarding the ongoing third Medium Term Plan 2018–22, its goals and achievements? Paragraph 4.1, page 8 The incentives available for investment in oil and gas, agro-processing, "The EAC countries continue to make considerable reforms to mineral processing, tourism, financial services, telecommunication and improve the doing business environment to attract investment transport activities are the following: across the region especially in oil and gas, agro-processing, 1. Exemption from customs duties on raw materials and equipment and mineral processing, tourism, financial services, telecommunication especially special vehicles; and transport." 2. Exemption from transfer duties in case of acquisition of fixed assets (land or building) Could Burundi provide some details of incentives available for 3. Payment of countervailing duties of 5% instead of between 10 and 25% investment in oil and gas, agro-processing, mineral processing, on semi or finished products intended to carry out its investment project tourism, financial services, telecommunication and transport (consumables are not concerned), activities? 4. 5% or 2% reduction in the income tax rate (30%) depending on whether the promoter declares and proves that he employed during the year at least 200 employees Paragraph 4.9, page 9 EAC is implementing MRP harmonised registration system that allows licenses or market authorizations (MAs) issued in one partner state to be recognized by other partner states, hence reducing the time and cost of processing

WTO Member Questions Responses "Eradicating livestock diseases that adversely affect livestock multiple licenses (market authorizations) within the Community. This will also products' access to external markets, remains a major challenge reduce duplication of dossier assessments and allowing the rapid introduction for livestock industry in the EAC…" of good quality immunological products into more markets at less cost.

How do EAC countries consider addressing the challenges of EAC Partner States are currently harmonizing programs and procedures for eradicating livestock diseases? managing and eradicating diseases including the Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs). Efforts are being made to collaborate in the management of diseases including through research and exchange of expertise within the region.

Interventions for animal diseases control and eradication are being implemented as defined under the strategic documents such as the Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (PSTA IV) and the National Agricultural Policy 2018 and include: 1. Prevention of animal diseases (including vaccination) and surveillance linked to early detection, warning and rapid response to disease emergencies making use of appropriate technologies.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 2. Strengthening control of cross-border animal movements; 3. Enhancing the capacity of the Veterinary Health Systems for disease surveillance and vaccination for both emerging and endemic diseases as well

as the diagnostic capacity of veterinary laboratories; -

4. Establishment of policy guidelines for disease control, vaccination and 88

surveillance including the integration of digitalized systems to share animal

- health information. 5. Promoting a one health system to reduce the impact of disease emergence events on humans and livestock and to mitigate future emergence through improved cross-sectoral coordination. 6. Development and preparation of the dossiers to submit for Disease free status from Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Pest des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Contagious Bovine Peri-pneumonia (CBPP) and African Swine Fever (ASF). Paragraphs 4.17 and 4.18, page 10 The construction of the Lokichar – Lamu Crude Oil Pipeline will be open to The report states that since the previous review, oil discovery was foreign bidders and suppliers. It's worth noting that the FEED is being carried made in the Tertiary rift of Kenya which has proved to be out by a European firm. commercially viable. The Government of Kenya with the oil exploring companies have agreed to a joint commercial development. A pipeline route to the port of Lamu has been identified to evacuate the oil and the engineering and design for the pipeline is under way. The first oil export is expected in 2022.

In terms of the pipeline construction, could Kenya specify whether the project is/ would be open for foreign bidders and suppliers? Would it be subject to the provisions of Buy Kenya - Build Kenya Strategy restricting access to foreign suppliers?

WTO Member Questions Responses Paragraph 4.30, page 12 "The EAC countries will also benefit from the implementation of the Tripartite and Continental Infrastructural Master Plans."

The EU would appreciate receiving further details on the Tripartite and Continental Infrastructural Master Plans and their implementations. JAPAN Paragraph 6, page 5 Consultations are ongoing on the concerns raised by some Partner States on the effects of the EPA, with a view to resolving them. According to paragraph 6 of the report by the secretariat, the negotiations on an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union were concluded in October 2014. For Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda, please state the progress in ratifying the agreement and share the domestic discussions regarding the EPA with the EU. Paragraph 2.7, page 120 NCIA is an independent institution administered by a Board of directors drawn from public and Private sector with a unique blend of competencies from the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 When making a contract regarding Japan's ODA project in Kenya, EAST Africa Region. It offers a neutral venue for the conduct of international the Government of Kenya sometimes tries to appoint the Nairobi arbitration with commitment to providing institutional support to the arbitral International Arbitration Center (NCIA), which is located in Kenya, process.

for jurisdiction to hear matters related to arbitration. -

The Government of Japan considers that the court arbitrator should 89

be designated to a neutral country, apart from Japan and Kenya.

- Please state Kenya's view on this issue. 3.1.4 Tariffs The budget process in Kenya is highly consultative and all stakeholders are Paragraph 3.22, page 129 adequately involved. The draft budget is usually subjected to public hearings before the process is completed. In almost every June, the Government of Kenya implements tax reform. During this process, there were cases where new tariffs and duties on goods were introduced without a prior notice. When these tax reforms are to be introduced, the Government of Japan hopes that these changes have been implemented after following the required procedures such as getting feedback from the relevant stakeholders and public hearings. Kindly comment on this issue. 3.1.5.2.1 Value added tax There are ongoing reforms to expedite VAT refunds. It is expected that this Paragraph 3.31, page 131 will resolve these delays.

Although the Government of Japan and the Government of Kenya have agreed on the E/N of provisions to exempt the value added tax (VAT) on locally consumed goods related to ODA projects, the companies involved in the ODA projects have experienced cases where it takes more than one year to complete the process for the VAT refunds.

WTO Member Questions Responses Kindly comment on this issue. 3.1.1 Customs procedures, valuation and requirements Tanzania has not yet ratified the TF Agreement. However, we are at the Paragraph 3.12, page 269 advanced stage of the ratification process according to the domestic ratification procedures. We expect, to have TF agreement ratified during the According to the Annex-4 paragraph 3.12, Tanzania plans to ratify coming financial year 2019/2020. the Trade Facilitation Agreement by the end of FY 2018/19. Please Full implementation of the TF Agreement including notification of categories B share the status quo with the members. and C will be made after the ratification process has been completed. Though, Tanzania has not yet ratified TF Agreement, the Government has continued to undertake dedicated effort in improving business environment in the country. Those efforts include, among other things, the following: (a) Establishment and irrationalizing the National Trade facilitation Committee; (b) Launching of the BLUEPRINT which was approved by the Cabinet in 2018. The BLUEPRINT provides the Governments' main framework for enabling a holistic review of the business enabling environment in order to improve the business climate in Tanzania. It presents key challenges affecting the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 business environment in Tanzania along with a set of recommendations for reforms to put in place a more business friendly environment in the country. The BLUEPRINT seeks to put in place a framework for addressing

regulatory hurdles and create a smart, functional, and fair business -

regulatory regime in Tanzania; 90

(c) Introduction of the Online Registration System (ORS) which enables

- business community and public in general, to access all services offered by the Business Registration and Licensing Agency (BRELA) wherever they are without physically visiting the respective offices; and (d) Infrastructure development in the form of roads, flyovers, rails ways, modernization of harbours and airports which are key enablers in facilitating trade. AUSTRALIA Page 6, Paragraph 12 Discussions on renegotiations of bound rates will be held with the affected Partner States The report states that the ad valorem CET rates exceed a number of corresponding ad valorem rates bound by Burundi, Kenya and Rwanda and that, for some lines, applied alternate tariffs may exceed bound ad valorem rates.

What plans does the EAC have in relation to future tariff reform, including facilitating further integration into the multilateral trading system? Page 7, Paragraph 19 A Regional IP Policy on the Utilisation of Public Health-Related WTO-TRIPS Flexibilities was enacted in February 2013 and is currently being implemented. The report states that intellectual property right issues are not The Policy focuses on the full use of specific TRIPS Flexibilities for optimising harmonized in the EAC, but efforts are being made at regional access to health products and medical devices in the EAC. The EAC Regional level to assist EAC member states to implement the TRIPS Protocol on Public Health Related WTO-TRIPs flexibilities has also been Agreement with a view to promoting copyright and cultural developed.

WTO Member Questions Responses industries, traditional knowledge, geographical indications, and technology transfer.

Australia welcomes the EAC's efforts to assist member states to implement the TRIPS Agreement. Could the EAC provide an update on these efforts? Page 20, Paragraph 2.33 Note that this is work in progress and EAC Partner States are still discussing the harmonization of domestic taxes. Regarding Excise taxes, The report states that a Policy on EAC Domestic Tax Harmonization Partner States have established a list of mandatory excisable goods and also was developed and endorsed by the finance ministers during the agreed to establish a minimum rate for each of the mandatory excisable good, 8th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Finance and Economic which shall be adopted by all Partner States. Affairs held in May 2018, and that detailed harmonization In order to establish minimum rate to be adopted, Partner States identified proposals for VAT and excise taxes rates were being developed for current rates of excise duty for the mandatory excisable goods/services for all consideration by the finance ministers in November 2018. Partner States in order to identify and agree on the minimum rate that would be applicable to all Partner States. However, it was noted that some Partner Could the EAC provide details and timeframes with regard to its States impose excise duties based on specific rates while others use ad Policy on EAC Domestic Tax Harmonization and the detailed valorem method. In this case, comparisons of rates across the EAC Partner

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 harmonization proposals for VAT and excise taxes rates? States became a challenge, as it would require computation of tax incidence/tax yield per unit for the case of ad valorem or converting tax values to percentages for the case of specific method. It was further noted that this

computation will require additional information and statistics, which was not -

available during the discussion. So, at the moment, we are working on 91

converting tax yields obtained from ad valorem rates into specific values per

- unit and/or converting specific excise rates into percentages in order to enable comparison of minimum excise rates across Partner States and establish a minimum rate that will be adopted by all Partner States, as provided for in the EAC Policy for harmonization of domestic taxes. Regarding the VAT, EAC Partner States have agreed that it is necessary to harmonize substantial aspects of VAT including the tax coverage, exemptions, bases, rates, credit/refund mechanism, time and place of supply, threshold and registration procedures in order to maintain coherence in the domestic systems of taxation in the community, which should be developed as the principal form of indirect taxation in the community. In view of this, EAC Domestic Tax Harmonization Policy stresses on harmonization of VAT as guided by the following principles: • Destination principle of taxation; • Common rules for determining mandatory exemptions and a limited list of optional exemptions; • Common rules for determining supply, tax point, and taxable values; • A single positive standard rate in each PS subject to an EAC-wide minimum; • Adopt a zero-rating approach for all exports; • Adopt a limited zero rating/related VAT reliefs for specific domestically consumed goods and services;

WTO Member Questions Responses • Adopt common rules for implementing the invoice-credit method, credit carry forward, limitations on input credits and reimbursement for excess VAT paid (paying attention to tax neutrality for investments); • Adopt a common framework for tax incentives under VAT; • Adopt common procedures regarding registration rules; • Adopt common minimum thresholds for VAT mandatory registration Page 41, Paragraphs 4.2.1 and 4.2.2

The report states that the EAC Treaty calls for the harmonization of countries' mining regulations, in order to ensure environmentally-friendly and sound mining practices. It states that, at the continental level, countries are seeking to align their mineral and mining policies with the Africa Mining Vision and that an EAC Mining Bill was tabled before the EALA in 2016, but that the process is still ongoing.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Could the EAC provide an update on any progress towards harmonization of countries' mining regulations? Is this likely to involve any changes to domestic mining legislation?

-

Could the EAC provide an update on the status of the EAC Mining 92

Bill?

- Page 45, Paragraphs 4.49-4.50 Under article 47, the EAC CMP, the Partner States are expected to amend their national laws to conform to the protocol obligations. The Council established a The report notes that the free movement of labour is one of the Committee on harmonization and approximation of laws, which sits and make key pillars of the EAC common market, but that, in practice, the proposals to the Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial affairs on principles free movement of workers within the EAC is restricted to selected that guide Partner States to review their national laws. However, the Partner highly-skilled workers and craft and related trade workers and is States are at different levels of amending and enacting laws to conform to the hindered by a number of issues. The report notes that EAC protocol provisions. With specific reference to Movement of Labor, the EAC member states are currently amending their respective national Secretariat in collaboration of the World Bank has developed a Scorecard on policies, including laws and regulations, to conform to the Protocol Free Movement of Workers, rights of Establishment and Residence. on the Establishment of the EAC Common Market (CM Protocol). The Score card, identified laws in Partner States that are inconsistent with the Could the EAC provide an update on progress toward amending CMP and made proposals on particular sections of the national laws for national policies to conform to the CM Protocol? amendment. The Scorecard is expected to be launched by July 2019. Thereafter, the Partner States will use the recommendations contained in the Could the EAC provide an update on the status of the Cross-Border Scorecard to fast- track the amendment process. Trade in Professional Services Bill? TheCross-Border Trade in Professional Services Bill is still under discussion in the East African Legislative Assembly. Burundi It is true that Burundi has fallen by 7 places in the ranking of the Doing Business Report 2018 compared to 2017. However, Burundi has improved its Page 69, Paragraph 2.22 ranking in relation to certain indicators such as business creation (starting business) and globalization. Issuing a construction permit in the Doing Business 2019 report, moving from the 42nd to the 17th place for the

WTO Member Questions Responses The report states that the World Bank report "Doing Business business creation and the building permit from 168th to 162nd. Other reforms 2018" ranks Burundi 164th out of 190 in terms of ease of doing were initiated, including the promulgation of the merchant insolvency law, the business - seven places lower than in 2017. This decline also operation of the Electronic Single Window and many other reforms in the applies to the ease of starting a business, where Burundi has payment of taxes such as the payment of taxes. by telephone. dropped from 18th place out of 190 in 2017 to 42nd in 2018.

What steps is Burundi taking to improve the ease of doing business, particularly in terms of improvements to the political situation? Page 92, paragraph 4.53 Yes, there is a Ministerial Order No. 760/540/898/2015 of 13 July 2015 on the tax regime applicable to the mining and quarrying sector of Burundi. Burundi enacted a new Mining Code in 2013, its provisions apply to Mining code of October 15, 2013. all operations of exploration, prospecting, industrial and artisanal Decree no 1/193 june 16,2015 as mining regulations. exploitation, processing, storage, transport and marketing, as well as closure of mines, relating to mineral or fossil substances, thermal waters and quarrying products on the territory and in the territorial waters of Burundi, with the exception of liquid or

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 gaseous hydrocarbons, which are governed by specific laws. Under the Code, the State has the role of regulator and does not engage in mining activities.

-

Does Burundi have any trade policies that specifically impact 93

mining or mining equipment?

- Kenya Additional steps include: • Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement which aims to Pages 118-119, Paragraph 1.19 reduce the cost of doing business by simplifying trade procedures and processes; The report states that the country improved its Doing Business • Additional investment in infrastructure to link Kenya with its neighbours to ranking by 28 positions, to 80th out of 190 countries in 2018, but promote regional trade; this improvement is not reflected in the country's performance in • Increase power generation to ensure stable and continuous supply of attracting foreign direct investments. power with focus on renewable energy especially geothermal, wind and solar energy; Australia congratulates Kenya on the significant improvement to • Internal legal and regulatory reforms to strengthen business support its Doing Business ranking and welcomes the recent steps Kenya organizations and other institutions dealing with business and investment; has taken to promote foreign investment, including the and establishment of the Kenya Investment Authority and the • Kenya is also focussing on the sustainable exploitation of the blue economy development of Kenya Vision 2030. What additional steps is Kenya due to abundance of marine resources. taking to attract foreign direct investment? Page 122, Paragraph 2.9 There are currently no plans to join EITI. Kenya is in the process of strengthening the institutions and regulatory framework to attract The report states that, during the review period, Kenya considerable amount of investments in mining before joining EITI. strengthened its anti-corruption framework, through the enactment of the Bribery Act, 2016 and the creation of specialized Kenya has identified the following additional measures to counter corruption: anti-corruption and economic crimes courts, which are operational. • Establishment of Multi Agency teams to investigate corruption cases

WTO Member Questions Responses Australia welcomes the strengthening of Kenya's anti-corruption • Enhanced capacity building of government agencies entrusted to fight framework. During the EAC TPR in 2012, Kenya stated it intended corruption. to join the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative. Does • Enhanced intelligence led evidence collection and investigation of Kenya still intend to join this Initiative? corruption cases • Improved information sharing amongst agencies Is Kenya considering implementing any additional initiatives or • Timely reporting on corruption cases mechanisms to address corruption? • Improved government good will, robust investigations that have seen arrests and arraignment before court of senior government officials and parastatal heads. • Up-scaling involvement of other relevant stakeholders and members of the public • Increased cooperation with safe haven jurisdictions facilitating bilateral engagements to ensure repatriation of individuals and recovery of assets. • Increased crackdown of high-profile fraud and corruption cases • On the judiciary angle, the judiciary has established a special economic crimes court with its registry in Nairobi to hear economic crimes cases only in a bid to expedite the same

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Page 124, Paragraph 2.23 Access to finance is one of the key priorities of the government under the Kenya Vision 2030. The vision for the Financial Services Sector The report states that limited access to financing and a heavy tax (FSS) is to create a vibrant and globally competitive financial sector that will

burden remain among the most problematic constraints facing promote high levels of savings to finance Kenya's overall investment needs. -

investors. 94

Many strategies are already in place including reduced borrowing rates, and

- Is access to financing for investors a concern for the Kenyan the Kenya Credit Guarantee Scheme Bill to further support access to credit by Government and does the Kenyan Government see itself as having Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) a role to play in addressing the issue? If so, what is that role? The role of government is critical in formulating strategies geared towards tax What is Kenya's approach to reducing and/or simplifying taxation? simplification. A number of initiatives are currently ongoing.

The income tax act is being reviewed to simplify and address the issue of the tax burden.

A simplified presumptive tax of 15% of single business permit fee came into effect in January 2019 to replace the turnover tax, which was 3% of the annual gross turnover. Page 130, Paragraph 3.27 The lowering of IDF is part of the Government's efforts in harmonising and consolidating fees and other levies/charges. The report states that Kenya collects an import declaration fee (IDF) on all imports destined for consumption in Kenya. In 2016, The impact of lowering the IDF has had the following: the IDF rate was lowered from 2.25% to 2% of the c.i.f. value of • reduced the cost of doing business; the goods, with a minimum charge of KES 5,000. • Faster approval of IDF since payment is no longer required in advance; and • It has encouraged importers of items of small value such as couriers to What impact has lowering the IDF on all imports destined for have their declaration done in a simplified version consumption in Kenya had on domestic companies? Is there any scope to further lower the IDF? The scope of lowering IDF is normally considered during continuous government review on revenue sources.

WTO Member Questions Responses Page 130, paragraph 3.29 The sugar levy has since been abolished

The report states that Kenya collects a sugar development levy with the purpose of financing the activities of the sugar industry. The levy is charged at the rate of 7% on the ex-factory price (for locally manufactured sugar) or the c.i.f. value (for imports).

Does Kenya have any plans to review its sugar development levy? Does this charge meet the requirements of Article VIII of GATT that all fees and charges be limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered? Page 135, Paragraph 3.56 Kenya is committed to improving the environment of doing business in the country including provision of information on export documentation The report states that some mining and other products are subject requirements, export permits and procedures. to specific export documentation requirements. This is evident through the Kenya trade portal [email protected] which provides What steps and opportunities might Kenya take to improve the information on export and import documentation requirements including the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 ease of exporting for investors, including reducing bottlenecks in necessary permits and fees. the processing of export permits? This information portal will be continuously improved to meet the needs of the

business community. -

Page 136, Paragraph 3.57 Kenya under Vision 2030 has invested a lot in infrastructure development in 95

terms of roads, ports and railways. This is aimed at facilitating trade and

- The report states that Kenya's export performance is hindered by reducing the cost of doing business. challenges related to, inter alia, poor infrastructure and high costs of inputs, high costs of export finance, increased competition in Kenya Investment Authority has established a one stop shop for investors to key markets, stringent and changing market entry requirements, facilitate investors wishing to invest in Kenya. and some non-tariff barriers.

What steps is Kenya taking to improve infrastructure, reduce market entry requirements and remove non-tariff barriers for foreign investors? Page 154, Paragraph 3.112 Kenya has drafted a Geographical Indications Bill, 2018 awaiting Cabinet approval. The report states there has been no major change to Kenya's intellectual property rights regime since its last TPR in 2012.

During the last TPR, Kenya expressed an intent to improve intellectual property legislation including that on geographical indicators. Have any steps been taken to progress this? Page 158, Paragraph 4.78 Legal and regulatory reforms including introduction of the Mineral rights board have helped streamline licencing and permitting procedures for both large The report states that mineral rights are granted either through a scale and small- scale operators. The process is now very transparent, license (for large scale operations) or a permit. Licenses and predictable and efficient.

WTO Member Questions Responses permits are granted by the Cabinet Secretary, upon The Mining cadastre portal compliments the work of the Mineral Rights Board recommendation by the Mineral Rights Board. in this regard. There are planned upgrades to the said mining cadastre portal to include additional online modules for an even more efficient licencing and Have the changes to Kenya's mining legislation in 2016 and the permitting regime. establishment of the Mineral Rights Board helped to streamline the licensing and permits system? Are any further changes expected in the future? Page 160, Paragraph 4.90 The Petroleum Bill has been signed into law by H.E. The president. The petroleum law will provide a framework for contracting, exploring, developing The report states that recent oil discoveries increased the urgency and producing the commodity. of an updated legal framework, prompting the launch of a revision process in 2012. It states that the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Bill was introduced into Parliament in January 2018, and the bill is with the Senate awaiting third reading.

Can Kenya provide an update on the process and timelines for the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Bill, which was introduced to Parliament in January 2018? RWANDA • Measures to broaden the tax base includes: adjusting excise duty rates;

and amending the income tax law to address gaps in, inter alia, transfer -

Page 187, Paragraph 1.10 pricing rules, the preconditions for participation in public tenders, and the 96

treatment of liberal professionals and consultants.

- The report describes Rwanda's measures to broaden the tax base, • including adjusting excise duty rates and amending the income tax • law to address gaps in, inter alia, transfer pricing rules. The incentives offered to investors as provided in the Annex 1 of the Law No. 06/2015 of 28/03/2015 relating to investment promotion and facilitation, Could Rwanda provide details on the changes implemented to from page 27 to 36 have not been affected by those changes made to broaden broaden its tax system? Rwanda tax base

What assistance is available to investors to enable them navigate the tax system in light of these changes? Page 195, Paragraph 2.18 Rwanda's laws provide for amendments. The implementation process can always inform a revision process and through consultations whenever needs The report states that registered investors are entitled to a arise; there is always a room to find solutions. residency permit in accordance with immigration laws.

How does Rwanda ensure its official visa list reflects emerging needs?

What is Rwanda's position on amending its immigration laws to provide for longer-term stays for foreign investors?

WTO Member Questions Responses Page 193, Paragraph 2.7 • The Ministry is planning to review Rwanda's Trade Policy to align it with some changes that have been happening in Rwanda and at regional level. Its The report states that Rwanda's National Trade Policy has not been review is planned during the fiscal year 2019/2020. updated since its adoption in 2010 and that a review of the Policy is ongoing.

Does Rwanda have plans to update its National Trade Policy? Page 198, Paragraph 3.8 In order to Reduce the time taken to import and export- in terms of border time and documentary compliance the following steps have been taken by the The report states that the 2019 World Bank Doing Business survey Government of Rwanda : ranks Rwanda 88th of 190 economies on the trading across • Implement risk-based clearance of goods in category HS 09; borders indicator. On average, importing merchandise into Rwanda • Enhance automation of cross border trade by incorporating clearing is estimated to require 74 hours and USD 282 for "border agents and National Agriculture Export Board in the electronic single compliance", and 48 hours and USD 121 for "documentary window system; compliance". On exportation, the corresponding figures are 83 • Establish dedicated and stable distribution and monitoring system to hours and USD 183, and 30 hours and USD 110 respectively. reduce power outages at border posts; • Reduce system downtime at border posts to a maximum of 10

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 What steps is the government taking to reduce the burden of minutes per downtime; import and export regulations on foreign investors? Page 212, Paragraph 3.86 • The new law n° 54/2018 of 13/08/2018 on fighting against corruption is

in force. The purpose of the law is to promote integrity, transparency and -

The report describes various legislation dealing with corruption and accountability in society. The law against corruption, especially in Article 1, 97

the ethical behaviour of civil servants. aims at preventing and punishing corruption in public bodies, private entities,

- civil society and international organizations operating or wishing to operate in How effective has its anti-corruption framework been in stamping Rwanda. The article 3 enunciates a string of preventive mechanisms against out corruption and promoting ethical behaviour? Are any further corruption: "to carry out activities in transparency; submit a report to the legislative or policy changes planned? relevant authorities; ensure that there is no corruption practices within it; present activities that were performed in the prevention and against corruption upon request by a competent organ; have a document describing modalities and timeframe for decision making; collaborate with other institutions in line with the required timeframe while presenting the activities performed or providing any information requested by another institution; and ensure equal treatment of clients and timely delivery of services. The Ombudsman Office has the responsibility to prescribe administrative sanctions against the leader of any organ who fails to comply with the preceding mechanisms. TANZANIA Some efforts are being taken by the Government to improve ease of doing business. These include the following: Page 264, Paragraph 2.43 (i) Export and Import procedures and requirements are easily available in The report states that, in 2018, Tanzania ranked 137th in the Tanzania Revenue Authority website and in websites of other World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings and was 15th government departments and in the Trade Information Portal/Module; among sub-Saharan African countries. Tanzania's position has (ii) Freedom of transit is offered; gradually deteriorated over the review period; Tanzania was (iii) Ongoing various infrastructures developments to support trade including ranked 127th in 2012. The Government has recognized this power projects; and

WTO Member Questions Responses situation and has identified four areas in particular for (iv) BLUEPRINT implementation to address specific concerns by the private improvement - business licensing, land reforms, registration of sector to further enhance and improve business environment in the businesses, and registration of persons. country.

What steps is Tanzania be taking to improve its ease of doing We have established the National Committee on Trade Facilitation to oversee business ranking? the implementation of trade facilitation issues in the country.

Could Tanzania provide more information on any initiatives FROM ZANZIBAR underway or planned to improve business licensing, land reforms, In improving ease of doing business ranking several steps has been taken. registration of businesses, and registration of persons? These includes: (i) Establishment of electronic registration process to ease the process of business startup. In this process business registration application can be done online. Thus, the application procedures have been reduced from 10 steps to 3; (ii) Reform of business licensing regime, whereby an entity (Business licensing Reform Council – BLRC) has been established to simplify and streamlining licensing procedures and eliminate unnecessary steps and

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 time-consuming procedures in obtaining licenses. The entity has set guidelines of procedures or steps to be followed by all licensing Authorities. Under these guidelines the procedures and steps of licensing

application has been reduced from 10-20 up to from 1 – 7; and -

(iii) Strengthening one stop centre in processing application of investment 98

certificate.

-

However, there are plans for every licensing Authority to establish online licensing application and e- payment system. To reduce administrative burdens in the application of license.

Also, there is program underway of establishment of one window clearance at the port that aim at the compilation of all documents required at the entry point during the process of exportations and importation of goods. This will reduce number of documents required and time. Page 310, Paragraphs 4.68 and 4.69 TBD The report describes policy changes made by Tanzania towards the mining sector, such as the Government's power to render existing mining contracts null and void, increased royalty tax rates, the holding of the country's national resources in trust by the President, the review of existing natural resource contracts and the adjudication of investment disputes in domestic courts. The report also describes changes made by the Local Content Regulations 2018.

Australia commends Tanzania for changes recently made to its Local Content Regulations 2018. Does Tanzania intend to amend

WTO Member Questions Responses other regulations under the Mining Act to ensure compatibility with the legal and commercial requirements that typically apply to project debt financing for foreign investors? Could Tanzania provide clarity on how it intends to deal with The amendments made to the Mining Act Cap 123 in 2017 repealed sections existing retention licences? 37 and 38 which provided for the retention licences. All repealed retention Licences were reverted to the Government. The Government may assign them to any person as it may deem appropriate. Could Tanzania clarify how it intends to assess the level of free • Government acquisition of 16% free carried interest is a legal requirement carried interest for any given mining project, and how this works in under Section 10 of the Mining Act, 2010 as amended by the written Laws practice? (Miscellaneous Amendment) Act No. 7 of 2017. The Government is required to have not less than 16% non dilutable free carried interest shares in the capital of a mining company conduction Mining, operations under a Mining licence or a special Mining licence. The Government is further entitled to acquire up to 50% of the Mining company resulting from the total expenditure incurred by the Government in favour of the Mining Company.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 • It should be clearly understood that, the minimum non-negotiable shares to be acquired by the Government shall be 16%. Note that, the Government, in this regard, shall acquire up to a total of 50% share.

However, the amount of share to be acquired by the Government shall -

depend on the type of minerals and the level of investment as shall be 99

determined by the total value of the expenditure incurred by the

- Government in favour of the mining Company.

• This is intended to bring a win-win situation in the mining extractive industry. Therefore, investors are encouraged to calculate their returns to the Government while bearing this in their mind.

• The Government is underway to issue directives on how the same shall be implemented. Page 312, Paragraph 4.76 • On 25th January 2019, the Government of Tanzania issued the guidelines on mineral value addition. Those guidelines are known as THE MINING The report states that Tanzania's export ban on gold and copper (MINERAL VALUE ADDITION) GUIDELINES, 2019. These guidelines clarify mineral concentrates has caused Tanzania's mineral ore exports to stage of beneficiations for each category of minerals before being exported. decline from 16% to 2%. According to the guidelines, gold dore, and copperdore are allowed for export. The ban on export of gold and copper concentrates is to allow for Does Tanzania anticipate lifting this export ban in the future? What local processing of the gold dore and copper dore stages. Therefore, lifting plans are in place to develop Tanzania's onshore processing up of the ban is not anticipated. capacity for its minerals? • Tanzania is encouraging the development of mineral processing industries. This include, among other, the establishment of smelters and refineries for metallic minerals. In small scale mining, the Government has constructed three demonstrations centres to promote construction of such industries by small scale miners.

WTO Member Questions Responses Uganda The recent Investment Code Act, 2019 provides incentives to foreign investors that meet the qualification requirements under the law. Page 367, Paragraphs 2.19-2.19

The report states that, pursuant to Section 13 of the Investment Code, foreign investors may be subject to a number of performance obligations (not imposed on national counterparts) as a condition for granting an investment licence. These include foreign exchange earnings, staff training and local employment, technological transfer, contribution to socio-economic development, and other obligations that the UIA may consider relevant for meeting the objectives of the Investment Code (e.g. investment size and environmental protection).

It states that, similarly, under the Petroleum Exploration, Development and Production Act, 2013 and the Petroleum Refining, Conversion, Transmission and Midstream Storage Act,

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 2013, investors are required to contribute to the creation of a local skilled workforce. The Uganda Investment Act does not specify mandatory numbers for local employment in management

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positions. According to the authorities, no performance appraisal regarding this matter has been carried out since the mid-1990s. 100

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To encourage foreign investors to enter the Ugandan market, might Uganda consider reviewing its legislation to reduce obligations on foreign investors? INDONESIA Government Report The EAC Partner States consider trade and investment agreements as important instruments for deepening the trade and investment relationship What is the outlook for EAC to enter trade agreements with among themselves and other trading partners. The increasing relationship countries and trading blocs outside African continents and its between EAC Partner States and key emerging economies has the potential to traditional trading partners? create opportunities for the region's development. EAC has also received requests from Turkey, China and Singapore to negotiate FTA Agreements.

Consequently, EAC is undertaking an assessment on the implications of EAC negotiating Free Trade Area Agreements with selected third Parties, such as the United States; Turkey; China; India; Brazil; Singapore; EFTA States; and the GCC What are the scopes and area of cooperation for EAC member As a Customs Union and Common Market, EAC Partner States are obliged to countries to enter bilateral trade agreement with other countries? coordinate their trade relations with third Parties and to adopt common (terms and restriction within EAC Protocol) principles in particular in relation to: tariff rates; conclusion of tariff and trade agreements; the achievements of uniformity of measures of liberalization; export promotion strategies; and trade remedies. The EAC Summit of 2002, Article 37 of the Customs Union Protocol and Article 37 of the Common Market Protocol attest to this.

WTO Member Questions Responses Article 37 (4a) of the Customs Union Protocol states that a Partner State may separately conclude or amend a trade agreement with a foreign country provided that the terms of such an agreement or amendments are not in conflict with the provisions of the protocol. The paragraph also describes the process whereby a Partner State intends to conclude or amend such an agreement, i.e. a Partner State that intends to negotiate such agreement with a foreign country should send its proposed agreement or amendment to the EAC Secretariat for other Partner States to make comments and proposals that will be considered by the Council of Ministers within a period of sixty days.

In the foregoing, FTAs separately would jeopardize the implementation of the CU Protocol. However, Trade cooperation agreements that do not have implications on tariff rates, etc. could be concluded individually, following the process in Article 37 para 4., which involves authorization from the Council. Looking at the latest development within the internal dynamic in The concerns relate to the effects of EPA on EAC industrial development; the EAC to finalize the Economic Partnership Agreement with European effect of EU subsidies and domestic support on EAC farmers; potential revenue

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Union, what are the main concerns from the remaining members losses, sanctions. of the EAC for reviewing its stance on EPA with EU? Secretariat Report

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Page 6 para 10 101

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Customs procedures are carried out by licensed customs clearing agents. Pre-shipment or destination inspections for customs valuation purposes are not required in any EAC country. However, pre-shipment inspection for conformity assessment purposes is required for certain goods in Burundi and Kenya. Although some customs procedures and documentation requirements continue to be country-specific, and national customs continue to use different computer systems, noticeable progress has been made towards full harmonization, in accordance with the provisions of the EAC Customs Management Act, 2004 (as amended in 2009), and the EAC Customs Management Regulations, 2010.

What are the scopes of pre-shipment for conformity assessment within the EAC and its application within its member states? Page 27 para 3.29 Textile and clothing are among sensitive items with a duty higher than the maximum rate of 25%. Agriculture remains the most tariff-protected sector: the average applied tariff on agricultural products (WTO definition) is 20.7%, For other items i.e. wood, pulp, paper and furniture, it was established that whereas the corresponding average for non-agricultural products the region has sufficient capacity to produce the items. Therefore, high import stands at 11.7% (Table 3.2 and Table 3.3). Animals and animal duties are imposed as a temporary measure to protect local industries from products, cereals, sugar, beverages, dairy products, fish products, cheap imports and curb undervaluation, awaiting conclusion of the CET fruits and vegetables, and clothing are the product groups with review.

WTO Member Questions Responses high import duties of over 20%. Furthermore, some product groups such as sugar, chemicals, non-electric machinery, petroleum, and transport equipment display higher coefficients of variation, implying larger tariff dispersion within these product categories.

We understand the reason of high tariff of agricultural products as agriculture is the key driver of the economies of the EAC countries. However, EAC also imposes high import duties for non-agricultural products, such as fish and fisheries products, textiles, clothing, and wood, pulp, paper and furniture, could EAC gives brief background on this issue? Page 30 para 3.37 The concessions granted are vetted and monitored by duty remission committees in the respective Partner States. The Secretariat publishes legal Moreover, EAC members are allowed to eliminate, reduce, or notices containing council decisions on granted concessions. sometimes increase tariffs, for a temporary period, on both sensitive and non-sensitive products, through concession schemes The Secretariat may undertake verifications to ascertain utilisation of

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 such as the "stay application" scheme and the "duty remission" concession under the schemes. scheme.

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How does EAC try to reconcile the unpredictability and differences on tariff applied by its member states? 102

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Is there existing mechanism within the EAC for outside entities to review its members' tariff policy? Page 36 para 3.71 Main challenge is the multiple regulatory requirements by different regulatory authorities in each Partner State. EAC countries experience some challenges in the harmonization of their regimes on standards and technical regulations, particularly This has been more in the Processed Food and Cosmetic sectors with regards to the mutual recognition of inspection certificates. This forces traders to undergo repeated certification tests within Challenge identified given the NTBs and plans ongoing to develop guidelines / the region. The priority in the harmonization process is based on regulatory framework to guide the trade of food and cosmetic products based goods traded in the region. on the principles of harmonization, equivalence and mutual recognition.

What are the main challenges for EAC member countries to harmonize their regime of standards and what are the efforts to address those challenges?

What are the mechanisms for foreign companies to settle differences in standard requirements of import goods within the EAC or its member states?

WTO Member Questions Responses KOREA, REP. Page 275 (Para 3.1.7) The local content law does not provide restrictions on importation. In contrast, OF Tanzania has certain local content rules that apply to certain the law requires is local companies to be given preference if they can supply sectors of its economy, mainly in the extractive sectors. The the goods or services required. If the local companies do not have the relevant laws and regulations have been strengthened during the capacity to supply, then a foreign company should enter into a joint venture review period to increase local content requirements, require with a local company. technology transfer, or otherwise put conditions on foreign operations, e.g. to use domestic banks, insurers, and service In the case it is impossible to get a local company to enter into a joint providers. According to the authorities, the National Economic venture, the contractor should request for permission to procure from a Empowerment Council(NEEC) is the coordinator, supervisor, and foreign company subject to certain conditions. Read Section 219 of the facilitator, and monitors local content implementation measures Petroleum Act of 2015 and the Petroleum regulation (local content) Regulations of 2017. The Republic of Korea wishes to raise its concerns regarding Tanzania's recently strengthened 'local content rules', the application of which appears to constitute import restrictions. In addition to the extractive sectors where local content requirements are articulated in laws and regulations, there are several items across various sectors where foreign companies are not allowed to

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 export due to relevant Government orders or tender requirements. Page 335 (Para 4.137) Tourism is a non-Union matter; thus, policies and laws differ for

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the Mainland and Zanzibar … In January 2018, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism made changes to the licensing 103

structure and associated fees for tour operators, in order to make

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it less costly for local small companies to operate, while at the same time increasing the fee for large foreign operators. (For foreign tour operators with a fleet size greater than 30 vehicles, the fee was increased from USD 5,000 to USD 7,500 per year and, if over 50 vehicles, it was further increased to USD 10,000. For local operators, the fee was reduced for small operations with 1-3 vehicles, to USD 500 from USD 2,000; it remains the same for operators with 4-10 vehicles, at USD 2,000; and increases to USD 3,000 for those with 11-50 vehicles, and to USD 5,000 for those with more than 51 vehicles. Foreign tour operators with less than 10 vehicles are prohibited

Could the Tanzanian government explain why it has changed the licensing structure and associated fees for tour operators, making it less costly for local companies while increasing the fee for foreign operators? In particular, the Republic of Korea would like to know why Tanzania has prohibited small foreign companies with less than 9 fleets to be tour operators. Page 378 (Para 3.72) In respect of imports, Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is 3.72. The UNBS conducts market surveillance. Where necessary, it mandated to inspect imports under Section 21(1) of the UNBS Act which draws samples of the product for laboratory testing. Testing provides that no person shall import, distribute, manufacture, sell or have in charges are imposed if samples are drawn for laboratory analysis. his or her possession or control for sale or distribution any commodity for

WTO Member Questions Responses If the product does not meet the critical minimum requirements which a compulsory standard specification has been declared unless the for health, safety, and performance, as set out in the relevant commodity conforms to the compulsory standard specification. Ugandan Standard, the product is prohibited from entry on those grounds and seized for destruction or re-exportation at the In addition, Section 7 of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (Inspection importer's expense. and Clearance of Imports) Regulations, 2018, provides that where the inspector determines that the commodities which are subjected to destination Could the Ugandan government explain in detail the circumstances inspection do not conform to the compulsory standard specification, the under which the UNBS (Uganda National Bureau of Standards) is inspector shall notify the relevant authorities and may refuse entry of the authorized to seize and dispose of goods? commodities into Uganda, or issue a notice to the importer to destroy or re- export the commodities. Furthermore, Section 13 of the Uganda National What legal recourses are available to the affected exporter if they Bureau of Standards (Inspection and Clearance of Imports) Regulations, 2018 wish to reverse the decision? provides that where a notice to destroy or re-export commodities is issued, the commodities shall within fourteen working days of the notice to destroy or re-export and at the expense of the importer; be destroyed, where the commodities do not pose a significant risk to the environment; or be re- exported to the country from which they were imported from, where the commodities pose a significant risk to the environment. The commodities for

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 re-export shall not be re-exported to another country other than the country from which they were imported from. The destruction of the commodities for which a notice to destroy is issued is done in accordance with the applicable

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national laws. 104

Page 392 (Para 4.544.2.1. Mining) The sector has undergone streamlining and regulatory review and efforts have

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4.54. On average, mining contributes about 0.7% to the economy. seen the setting up the African Gold refinery and artisan minors have Over the period under review, production volumes of non-metallic streamlined operations. As a result, there's increased production and minerals such as limestone, pozollana, and kaolin gradually processing. Furthermore, there's a regional mechanism under Great Lakes increased, while production of metallic minerals fluctuated (Table countries that we endeavor to abide with. 4.7). It seems that mineral exports continued to decline, except for gold.

Does Uganda have a mechanism for ensuring that exported gold marked as Ugandan origin has actually originated from Uganda? The Auditor General's reports are submitted to Parliament in accordance to the constitution of Uganda. Any such issues that may have been raised are What is the Ugandan government's position on the report recently responded to by Government during consultation by the relevant committees. published by the Auditor-General Office of Uganda which This has not yet happened and therefore the content of the report should not discovered that some gold exported from Uganda did not possess be treated as gospel truth. We have right control on mineral exports, including the legitimate licenses as required by the Mining Act of Uganda? gold. If at the time of interacting with Parliament, there are loopholes as reported by the Auditor General, Government will remain committed to plugging such loopholes.

Any Gold exported is legitimate.

What are the Ugandan government's plans to ensure that only entities with legitimate export licenses can export gold through customs?

WTO Member Questions Responses TURKEY THE GOVERNMENT REPORT The current account deficit of Rwanda in 2017 was 760 million. 2.1.3 Balance of Payment, pg. 5, 2.15

It is stated in the EAC Report that "There has been a slight ease in the current deficit for Tanzania and Rwanda over the period from USD 4.9 billion in 2013 to USD 2 billion in 2016 and USD 1.3 billion in 2016 to USD 760 million in 2017 respectively. The improvement in the current account deficit for Rwanda to USD 760 billion from a deficit of USD 1.3 billion recorded in 2016, was due to a positive variation in trade balance where exports and imports variation were respectively 44.5% and negative 5.6% in 2017."

Current account deficit of Rwanda in 2017 is written as USD 760 billion. Should the current account deficit be USD 760 million instead of 760 billion? 2.2.1 Intra-EAC trade, pg. 7, 2.25

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 It is stated in the EAC Report that "EAC's top priorities to enhance intra-EAC trade and deepen integration in its medium-term policy framework, among others:

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consolidation of the Single Customs Territory (SCT) to cover all imports and intra-EAC traded goods including agricultural and 105

other widely consumed products;

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infrastructure development in the region; enhancing free movement of all Factors of Production and other areas of cooperation across the Partner States as envisaged under the Common Market and Monetary Union Protocols. enhancement of regional industrial development through investment in key priority sectors, skills development, technological advancement and innovation to stimulate economic development; improvement of agricultural productivity, value addition and facilitation of movement of agricultural goods to enhance food security in the region."

Could the EAC provide more detailed information regarding the key priority sectors that the EAC aims to enhance regional industrial development? Which specific sectors, for example, will the EAC prioritize in the medium-term? Secretariat Report 1.2 Recent Economic Developments, pg. 10

Could the EAC provide information on the labor market situation in its member countries?

WTO Member Questions Responses 2. Trade and Investment Regimes, General Framework, pg. 16, 2.5 It is stated in the Secretariat Report that "In matter related to trade with third parties, EAC countries negotiate in principle as a bloc. Under the Customs Union Protocol, a member may separately negotiate bilateral trade agreements, subject to notification to the other members. Such agreements should not conflict with the provisions of the Customs Protocol. In principle, pursuant to the Negotiations Act, 2007, negotiations are led by a Joint Trade Negotiations Commission. However, according to the authorities, the Act has never been operationalized. In 2014, the AEC Trade Negotiations (Repeal) Bill, 2014 was drafted by the Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs and submitted to the EALA for deliberations. In 2018, the Repeal Bill was referred to the Committee on Communication, Trade and Investment." Could EAC explain more in detail the mechanisms set, if any, to reconcile the goals of a single member and provisions of the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Customs Protocol in bilateral trade negotiations pursued by that member state and how does the notification mechanism operate to maintain the smooth functioning of the Customs Union?

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ANNEX 1 BURUNDI 106

1.2 Recent economic developments, pg. 59, para. 1.13

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It is mentioned in the report that "Structural and macroeconomic reforms were introduced under the programme supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) agreed with the IMF in January 2012. The main emphasis was placed on public debt sustainability and the mobilization of domestic revenue by continuing to reform tax administration, more specifically by streamlining procedures, introducing a flexible tax regime, broadening the tax base, decentralizing and modernizing tax collection structures, and bringing the tax system into line with the regulations of the East African Community (EAC).

Could Burundi kindly provide information about the expected impacts of these reforms on the economy? ANNEX 2 KENYA

1.3 Developments in Trade and Investment, pg. 116, para. 1.18

It is stated in the Secretariat Report that "Kenya is a net exporter of services, owing to its tourism and air transportation subsectors. The surplus in trade in services increased to a peak of KES 251.9 billion in 2013, before declining in the following years. However, at

WTO Member Questions Responses 18.5% of GDP, the services surplus is relatively high. Travel and tourism recorded robust growth over the past three years thanks to improvements in infrastructure and security conditions."

Is there any study that calculates the interaction between the robust growth of travel and tourism and the improvements in infrastructure and security conditions? ANNEX 3 RWANDA 3.3 Measures Affecting Production and Trade, pp. 204-205, para. 3.46 It is mentioned in the report that "Rwanda has been implementing a Special Economic Zones (SEZ) programme aimed at fostering private sector investment, employment and income generation, economic diversification and the development of secondary economic centres. SEZs do not offer any fiscal incentives beyond those set out in Rwanda's Investment Code but are intended to provide their users (resident companies) a streamlined framework

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 for doing business, including access to reliable infrastructure and utilities, and an on-site one-stop centre (OSC). SEZs may also host EPZs (Section 3.2.4) and industrial/sector-specific parks. While

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labour and management relations in SEZs are generally governed by Rwanda's labour legislation, zone-specific labour conditions may 107

be determined by ministerial order."

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Is there any qualitative analysis to calculate the overall impact of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) programme especially on foreign trade? If yes, could Rwanda kindly provide further information about these analyses? ANNEX 4 TANZANIA

2.2 Trade Policy Formulation and Objectives, pg. 255, para. 2.10

It is mentioned in the report that "Tanzania implemented the Tanzania Trade Integration Strategy, 2009-13, to strengthen trade sector development and identify development needs and priorities within the Tanzanian trade sector. An export strategy was also developed in 2009 for the period 2010-14, in order to support export-led growth and to build upon the National Trade Policy. The policy targeted a number of priority sectors, including agriculture, tourism, mining, and forestry and bee-keeping, to increase export competitiveness and boost exports. A separate Export Development Strategy was developed for Zanzibar. According to the authorities, both strategies continue to guide Tanzania in their respective areas."

WTO Member Questions Responses Could Tanzania kindly provide further information about the above-mentioned strategies? Are there any targets determined for exports and import value under this strategy? Did Tanzania achieve these targets? ANNEX 5 UGANDA 1.2 Recent Economic Developments, pg. 357-358, para. 1.5 It is stated in the Secretariat Report that "The Ugandan economy continued expanding during the 2011-17 period, with real GDP growth averaging 4.5% per year. Over the same period, per capita GDP increased from USD 732 to USD 773 in real term. According to the authorities, Uganda envisions graduating from LDC to a lower middle-income country by 2020, and to an upper middle- income country by 2040. Economic growth slowed to an annual rate of 2.6% in 2016, due to drought that adversely affected agricultural production and agro-processing; the spillover from regional conflict also had a negative impact on growth. With weather conditions improving, the GDP annual growth rate

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 bounced back to 5.1% in 2017."

Is there any qualitative analysis that calculates the impact of the

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drought and the spillover from regional conflict on foreign trade? If yes, could Uganda kindly provide further information about the 108

impact of the afore mentioned issues on the foreign trade?

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CHINA Questions based on Report by the Secretariat (follow-up (WT/TPR/S/384-01) questions) Page 10, para 1.4 "The EAC aims at "a prosperous, competitive, secure and politically united" region, through the successive establishment of a customs union, a common market, and a monetary union.3 This vision is operationalized through five-year development strategies. During the review period, the implementation of the 4th EAC Development Strategy focused on the consolidation of the customs union and the establishment of the common market." Page 17, para 2.13

"2.13. In November 2013, EAC members took a step further with the signing of the Protocol on the Establishment of the EAC Monetary Union (MU Protocol), which entered into force in 2014. The Protocol lays out the framework for the harmonization of monetary and fiscal policies, with a view to converging toward a single currency within ten years. " Please give a brief introduction on the development and progress toward a fully implemented customs union, a common market and Monetary Union.

WTO Member Questions Responses Page 18, para 2.20 "EAC countries are engaged in the establishment of a tripartite free trade area (FTA) involving members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the South African Development Community (SADC) (COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite FTA). The FTA covers 26 African countries that account for about 57% of the continent's population and 58% of its GDP. It is part of an overarching project aimed at establishing a continental FTA, and ultimately the African Economic Community." Page 20, para 2.30 "2.30. All EAC countries are members of the African Union (AU). Negotiations for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) were launched in June 2015, and a consolidated text (the Protocol on Trade in Goods; the Protocol on Trade in Services; the Protocol on Rules; and the Procedures on the Settlement of Disputes) was adopted in March 2018. As at August 2018, 49 Member States had signed the AfCFTA, and 6, including Kenya and Rwanda, had

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 ratified it. "

How to describe the relationship between Tripartite FTA and

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AfCFTA? Are they being negotiated parallelly? 109

If a third country negotiate trade agreement with the EAC or a EAC

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member, how to deal with the relationship between the new FTA agreement and AfCFTA? Will AfCFTA exert any influence or restraint on this kind of bilateral FTAs?

Are the two objectives, i.e. pushing forward the establishment of AfCFTA and aiming at the establishment of a customs union, a common market and monetary union in the EAC, being pushed forward parallelly and simultaneously? Page 23, para 3.9 "The establishment of one-stop border posts is another key step in the operationalization of the customs union. The EAC One-Stop Border Posts Act was enacted in 2016 and provides for the establishment and implementation of one-stop border posts at common borders. The objective is to improve the efficiency of the movement of goods, persons and services within the Community. About 15 posts have been designated as one-stop border posts. Border controls in these posts continue to be carried out according to national laws. However, officers are encouraged to proceed to simultaneous processing of documents, joint inspections and verifications. Although the legislation has not yet entered into force, countries have been operating these border posts based on bilateral agreements that are consistent with the legislation.

WTO Member Questions Responses According to the authorities, ten one-stop border posts are functional. The major challenge is interconnectivity between the respective systems of the Partner States.

Please detail how one-stop border posts operate. EUROPEAN Annex 1 Burundi As the European Union observes, Burundi has potential for export UNION development in the sub-sectors of coffee and tea. For coffee the challenges (follow-up EU initial question No 36: thus raised are very true. questions) The EU would like to know what are the measures that are under consideration, if any, by the government regarding the enhanced As a solution to the problem of improving the profitability of coffee and profitability of the coffee and tea –production sector given that countering the challenges facing this coffee crop, the Government has signed coffee is one of the main sources of exports earnings? an agreement with the World Bank for the implementation of a Sector Competitiveness Support Project. Coffee (2017-2023). This project is facing Answer: not yet received. the challenges on coffee that concern, among others, the renewal of old coffee EU follow-up question: The coffee and tea sectors are important trees, the supply of fertilizers, quality control, strengthening skills and sources of exports earnings in Burundi. Through the programme capacities in this sector, etc. ... MARKUP, the EU supports the quality infrastructure Through the MARKUP program, the EU supports quality infrastructure

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 (standardization, inspection, analysis, certification services) to (standardization, inspection, analysis and certification services) to enable the enable the country to comply with sanitary and phytosanitary country to comply with sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and term, (SPS) measure and eventually increase export. The sector is to increase exports. The sector is, however, very vulnerable to climate change

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however very vulnerable to climate change (floods, droughts). (floods, droughts). Could Burundi clarify how it plans to enhance the profitability of 110

the coffee and tea sectors taking the quality infrastructure into Thus, Burundi hopes to improve the profitability of the coffee and tea sectors

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account? with these and others that it will seek in addition. Annex 2 Kenya

EU initial question No 55: While Kenya's Northern Corridor is a major route for cargos in transit, it is also a major route for cargos entering Kenya as a final destination. Could Kenya elaborate how it plans to further automatize and speed up customs clearance and customs controls in Mombasa?

Answer: Customs clearance and customs control in Mombasa is fully automated. EU follow-up question: We refer to the recent letter sent to Kenya regarding containers with products from the EU kept at the port of Mombasa due to a different on customs valuation. Could Kenya clarify how it will take into account the High Court decision confirming that providing letters of guarantees should allow these products to be released? Could Kenya indicate when it will be in a position to release these containers?

WTO Member Questions Responses UNITED In the responses to the second question from the United States, STATES only Kenya and Uganda provided responses that they will provide (follow-up the required notification to the Working Party on State Trading questions) Enterprises. Please provide the responses for the other EAC Members. WTO tariff bindings Follow-up on page 16: Please provide information on the following: 1. Please confirm whether or not each EAC member is applying a levy or using trade measures to contribute to the African Union peacekeeping initiative. If so, please provide details about these levies and/or trade measures.

Annex 1 Burundi Intellectual Property Rights Follow-up on page 20: We appreciate that Burundi plans to ratify the WPPT by 2020.

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 What steps does Burundi plan to take to fully implement the WCT and WPPT (together, the "Internet Treaties")? Annex 2 Kenya

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Customs 111

Follow-up on page 22: The United States appreciates Kenya's

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response to its question on the processes and planning for its single window, TradeNet system. Kenya noted that several government agencies made commitments to specific timelines for cooperation under the system with a Memorandum of Cooperation, and KenTrade provides statistics tracking progress. Please clarify if Kenya's plan is to include additional stakeholders when the TradeNet System is available to the public, or alternatively provide a timeline when Kenya will make it publicly available. Follow-up on page 23: The United States appreciates Kenya's response to its question regarding Kenya's commitments under the COMESA FTA. Kenya noted that Tanzania does not provide preferential tariff rates for products from COMESA members, and that Kenya and other EAC partner states do not provide preferential tariff rates for products from SADC where Tanzania is a member. Please clarify whether Tanzania applies different rates of duty on products originating from SADC countries than the other EAC partner states apply on those same products originating from SADC countries.

WTO Member Questions Responses Please clarify how the EAC applies EAC rules of origin to prevent the re-export of products imported to Tanzania originating from SADC countries. Follow-up on page 26: The decision for issuing a license to collect royalties for authors and publishers of musical works was deferred for 2019. How are authors and publishers currently collecting royalties for uses of their works? Has a new Board been constituted? Trade Remedies Follow-up on page 24: The United States noted that the Kenya Trade Remedies Act of 2017 was published in the Kenya Gazette in August 2017 but had not yet been notified to the relevant WTO committees on antidumping, subsidies and countervailing measures, and safeguards. The United States asked when Kenya plans to notify this legislation to the relevant WTO Committees. Kenya indicated it will notify the WTO when it establishes its administering authority but did not answer our question

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 concerning the notification of its trade remedies legislation to the WTO. When does Kenya plan to notify its trade remedy legislation (i.e.,

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the Kenya Trade Remedies Act of 2017) to the WTO? Intellectual Property Rights 112

Follow-up on page 26: Please provide further information on the

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following: Why was the decision to issue a license for 2019 deferred? When will this decision now be made? What are the considerations that must be undertaken, if any, other than the composition of the Board? Annex 3 Rwanda

Customs Follow-up on page 28: The United States appreciates Rwanda's response providing additional information regarding the Rwanda Revenue Authority's Gold Card Scheme (GCS) established in 2014. Rwanda's responses note that a list of companies approved under the program is not yet published. Please provide a timeline for when Rwanda intends to publish a list of approved companies. Intellectual Property Rights Follow-up on page 29: Please provide further information on the following: For which rights and for which authors and creators were these funds collected? What are the plans, including the timeline, for distribution of royalties from RSAU? WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

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REPLIES BY UGANDA ICELAND

On the occasion of the 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires more than 120 WTO members and observers, including Burundi, Kenya Rwanda and Uganda launched a joint declaration on women and economic empowerment that aims inter alia at sharing best practices and working together at the WTO to remove barriers for women's economic empowerment and increase their participation in trade. The Trade Policy Review provides an excellent opportunity for an exchange of information and best practices on women and trade.

The report of the East African Community highlight gender equality as one of the emphasis of Rwanda's guiding policy document, Vision 2020 which now is being developed for providing the vision for 2050. Rwanda is a champion for gender equality, so Iceland would like to ask Rwanda to inform if there are particular projects aimed at women's economic empowerment and increasing women's participation in trade. If so, could Rwanda provide information on the content of the projects, the results so far and what have been the lessons learned in Rwanda? Iceland would like to ask all of the EAC countries the following questions:

What is the participation of women in the economy in the EAC countries?

Reply: Women are key economic actors in Uganda's trade and agricultural production. They account for 51 per cent of the entire population, constitute 39% of the gender wage gap in the private sector employment and hold 35% of women parliamentary seats. The MasterCard Index of Women's Entrepreneurship (MIWE) report released in March 2018 noted that Uganda has the most entrepreneurial women in the world. The report revealed that 34.8 percent of businesses in Uganda are owned by women, making it the top performing country in the world. The Government of Uganda has made significant social and economic progress in the last two decades, in ensuring women empowerment and gender equality. The Government Commitment has translated in the establishment of national gender mechanisms and revision of its legal and policy framework to address gender inequality and violations of women's rights. Women Socio-economic empowerment is recognised in the Constitution, the National Development Plan 1&2, the national sector policies and strategies. Support to women cross border traders under the simplified trade regime and cross border trade Association. So far, 18 border markets constructed facilitate women engaged in cross border trade. In partnership with EASSI, Government has established a common facility which provides women with information on trade and supports them in value addition, including offering various services of sorting, weighing, packaging and branding of products.

Have particular barriers that limit women's participation in trade been identified?

Reply: The Government of Uganda has identified barriers limiting women participation and has developed gender sensitive policies, strategies that empower women entrepreneurs and traders. The challenges being addressed include; the limited access to affordable trade finance, lack of collateral and economic resources such as land, inadequate business skills, lack of trade information, unpaid burdensome domestic work, and cultural attitudes/stereotype that attract women in low paid jobs, including gender roles for girls and women that disadvantage their potential to engage in meaningful economic activities.

C)Have particular measures been put in place to encourage women's participation in trade and to promote women's entrepreneurship, or are such measures being developed?

Reply: Uganda has a number of policies and legislation to empower women entrepreneurs and traders. In addition, the Government is providing targeted support to women through the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP), popularly known as the Women Fund aimed at improving access to financial services for women and equipping them with skills for enterprise growth, value addition and marketing of their products and services. Additional support is needed to uplift women/women cooperatives to trade and export beyond the domestic and regional markets. Other programmes include Operation wealth creation, the Agricultural Insurance scheme that financially support women farmers, traders and entrepreneurs.

If so, what have been the challenges and best practices of the programmes? What have been the results so far? WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

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Reply: The UWEP Programme and other Government targeted programmes have held a number of symposiums for financiers and trainings for women SMEs on inclusive finance. These Programmes have elevated the uptake of financial services from SMEs. Awareness programmes for women traders and entrepreneur have been undertaken. However, the programmes and other financial initiatives are confronted with the need to develop accessible, affordable and reliable financial products that take into account the different business segments. For instance, medium and large enterprises have business experience and credit worthiness and so can afford to access loans with substantial collateral. On the other hand, micro and small enterprises do not have collateral to access financial support. This inability hinders their business ventures and growth.

Are the effects of trade policy on women and men measured and monitored? If so, how?

Reply: Uganda 's Trade Policy constitutes one of the key aspects of economic policy with direct impact on the livelihood of women, men and children. We perceive a policy approach that is inclusive of different economic actors in society particularly women who play a major role in economic development through their support towards various sectors as well as contribution to growth and development of society. There is no mechanism to demonstrate the effects of trade policy on women and men. However, in the future, Uganda would embark on capturing this data and we look forward to learning from other WTO Members. WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

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CANADA

WTO TRADE POLICY REVIEW OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY (EAC) SECTION I: QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SECRETARIAT REPORT (WT/TPR/S/384)

Summary: paragraph 9, page 6:

The Secretariat Report notes that under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda have deposited their instruments of acceptance. All EAC WTO Members have notified their Category A commitments. A Regional Trade Facilitation Sub-Committee was established in 2015 to coordinate the implementation of the TFA and other trade facilitation measures decided at the regional level. EAC countries continue to fulfil their notification obligations at various degrees. However, there are several areas where notifications remain outstanding.

Question: 1. When do Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda plan to send their outstanding notifications?

Reply: Uganda is currently undertaking a study to identify the TFA provisions for categorization under B and C and once the study is validated at the national level, a notification to the WTO will be made. However, further analysis on the necessary financial support for B&C measures is desirable.

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UNITED STATES

Questions based on the Secretariat Report (WT/TPR/S/384), Page 7, Paragraph 18:

The Secretariat's Report states that none of the EAC countries has notified a state trading enterprise to the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises, despite having a biennial requirement to do so. Please identify when each EAC member will make the required notifications.

Reply: In the subsequent weeks after the TPR, Uganda is to notify the WTO of state-trading enterprises within the context of Article XVII:4(a) of GATT 1994.

TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES 2.1 General Framework, Page 16, Paragraph 2.5

Have any members negotiated bilateral trade agreements with third-country partners?

Reply: Uganda has not negotiated any bilateral trade agreement with non-EAC Countries. WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

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UKRAINE

PART I: QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SECRETARIAT REPORT (WT/TPR/S/384), Page 7 (Para 17) Under the Report, the EAC countries continue to experience challenges in the harmonization of their regimes on SPS-related measures, standards and technical regulations, particularly concerning the mutual recognition of inspection certificates, and this contributes to further increasing trade costs in the region. According to available information, Ukrainian companies are also adversely affected by burdensome certification procedures when exporting products to the EAC member States.

Ukraine would appreciate if the EAC countries could share their views and intentions concerning possible simplification of current certification regime, in particular for such items as food products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, household chemicals, fertilizers and seeds.

Reply: The requirement for certification of goods including the need for pre-shipment inspection (PVoC) is to protect the public and consumers from products that may cause harm if they do not meet the quality and safety specifications of the relevant mandatory technical regulations and standards. Simplification of the conformity assessment processes while achieving the two main goals of consumer protection and trade facilitation remains and will be the continual improvement goal for the EAC conformity assessment system. Efforts will continue to be exerted to ensure close collaboration between the TBT & SPS Institutions to ensure expeditious handling and conformity assessment of products – single window; harmonization, mutual recognition etc. These are regulated products and it is not envisaged that requirement for obtaining certificates indicating conformity will be waived of. What is envisaged is the continuous improvement of the various conformity assessment processes through a risk-based approach.

What authorities are responsible for making decisions in this area at EAC level and in individual EAC countries?

Reply: No decision on imported goods are made at EAC level. In Uganda, the authorities responsible for making decisions in relation to imported food products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, household chemicals, fertilizers and seeds are UNBS, MAAIF, NDA and DDA.

Page 10 (Para 1.6) The Report states, "Efforts are ongoing with a view to strengthening financial operations within the region. The African Development Bank is funding the EAC Payment and Settlement Systems Integration Project (EAC-PSSIP). The objective of the Project is to contribute to the modernization, harmonization and cross-border interoperability of payment and settlement systems for commercial, securities market and retail transactions across the EAC. A cross-border payment system was launched in 2013, allowing traders in the Community to conduct real-time transactions in their local currencies. In 2018, the East African Legislative Assembly passed the East African Monetary Institute Bill, establishing the EAC Monetary Institute as a transitional institution in charge of carrying out the preparatory work for the monetary union." Taking into account involvement of the EAC member States' banks and financial institutions in this process, could the EAC, please, describe indicators of a non-transparent ownership structure and approaches to revealing banks' beneficial owners, which are used by the central banks in the EAC countries?

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT Main Features of the Community, Para 10 (Para1.6) The Report states, ''Efforts are ongoing with a view to strengthening financial operations within the region. The African Development Bank is funding the EAC Payment and Settlement Systems Integration Project (EAC-PSSIP). The objective of the Project is to contribute to the modernization, harmonization and cross-border interoperability of payment and settlement systems for commercial, securities market and retail transactions across the EAC. A cross-border payment system was launched in 2013, allowing traders in the Community to conduct real-time transactions in their local currencies. In 2018, the East African Legislative Assembly passed the East African Monetary Institute Bill, establishing the EAC Monetary Institute as a transitional institution in charge of carrying out the preparatory work for the monetary union.''

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Questions: Taking into account involvement of the EAC member states' banks and financial institutions in this process, could the EAC, please, describe indicators of a non-transparent ownership structure and approaches to revealing banks' beneficial owners, which are used by the central banks in the EAC counties?

Reply: In Uganda's case, the vetting process to discover the ultimate shareholders/ beneficial owners (> 5% stake) is never triggered by indicators of capacity, but rather automatic (followed even in cases that might be considered obvious). However, non-transparent structures are usually laid out in complex webs of owners, both institutional and individual. They often have trusts in the ownership layer, and companies may not all be from the same jurisdiction. i. To ensure known beneficial owners, and to mitigate the risk of a bank becoming a conduit for illegal activities such as money laundering, entities are awarded banking licenses in the following instances; ii. If they are financial institutions regulated in a recognized jurisdiction (e.g banks licensed in another country). BoU consults the regulator in that jurisdiction to verify ownership. iii. If the applicant is a private non-financial entity, they must be listed on a recognized stock exchange. iv. Individuals, together with related parties (e.g. relatives) cannot own more than 49% of the bank's equity. v. All unregulated applicants undergo a due diligence process of identification process conducted by BoU, to determine ability to recapitalize, and lack of criminal background among others. vi. It is noteworthy that the vetting process is continuous, and shareholders are fit and proper until they are not.

What are the types of activities of non-banking financial institutions requiring authorization/licensing?

Reply: Please note that the National Payments System (NPS) Bill is yet to become law in Uganda. Moreover, regulations to operationalize such a law when ready, are yet to be put in place. Thus, wherever relevant (pertaining to payments), the discussion below refers to the NPS bill (please refer to appendix on components of the payments system, in Uganda's case). In the event a Non-Bank Financial Institution (NBFI) seeks to participate in the national payments system, the following require licensing; • Payment system operators/providers. e.g. mobile money service providers (these tend to be telecom companies in Uganda's case), Interswitch, Agency Banking Companies (ABCs). • Electronic money (E-money) issuers (e.g., mobile network operators. These maybe the same entities operating the underlying payment system. • Issuers of payments instruments (instruments like cheques or debit/ credit cards used to initiate a payment or transfer). Supervised NBFIs, although licensed, must seek authorization to participate in markets outside the traditional ones for which they were licensed. E.g. forex bureau must obtain authorization to offer money transfer or mobile money services.

What are the approval procedures, including verification of sources of funds used for capital formation, assessment of financial standing, business reputation and transparency of applicants' ownership structure?

Reply: Approval is a function of the due diligence outcome. The bank vets' potential institutional owners by contacting regulators in the jurisdictions in which they are licensed, or other regulatory bodies, as well as law enforcement agencies such as Interpol. The bank engages lawyers to assist with due diligence (especially of foreign based applicants). The due diligence is especially useful for complex structures. Moreover, the bank assesses financial strength by looking at declared sources of funds and checks this against the due diligence results. It may also use anecdotal evidence (such as from the press).

Appendix Payment systems. The payment systems in Uganda are categorized as; a. payment systems operated by the central bank which include - i. the Real Time Gross Settlement System; ii. the Automated Clearing House; iii. the Central Securities Depository for government debt securities; WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

- 119 - iv. cross border payment systems; and v. Any other payment system that the central bank may establish. payment systems operated by another government entity or in partnership with government entities in public interest; payment systems operated by the private entities, including i. switches; ii. electronic money systems; iii. aggregators or integrators; and iv. Any other payment system as may be approved or licensed by the central bank under this Act. Intellectual property rights, Page 38 (Para 3.83)

According to the Report "Counterfeiting and piracy of trademarks and copyrights remain a serious challenge to IPR protection in the region". Would the EAC member States kindly inform how they are planning to address these matters, considering that only Burundi is a member of WIPO Copyright Treaty, and only Kenya has acceded to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks?

Reply: To overcome the limitation of private enforcement of IP rights it became necessary for Uganda Registration Services Bureau to set up a specialised Intellectual Property enforcement unit. In 2016, URSB in cooperation with Uganda Police Force established the Intellectual Property Enforcement Unit. The Unit's role is the enforcement of the law against trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. URSB has since the establishment of the Unit undertaken various intellectual property enforcement activities. Other enforcers include: The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is responsible for institution and conducting prosecution of offences including counterfeiting and piracy to their logical conclusion. DPP on receipt of the case file from the Intellectual Property Enforcement Unit, assesses sufficiency of evidence and may institute proceedings or decline to prosecute. Where there is a reasonable prospect of a successful prosecution, the DPP institutes prosecution proceedings and in supported by the enforcement unit throughout the process. The High Court has unlimited jurisdiction in hearing cases and therefore receives and hears intellectual property cases. The Chief Justice designated the Commercial Court to especially hear civil cases of commercial nature including those related to intellectual property whereas criminal matters mainly the heard in Magistrate's courts are mostly heard in the newly created division of the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court headed by a Chief magistrate. URSB and UNBS have a common interest in ensuring products that are certified as meeting standards are not counterfeit or pirated. In March 2018, URSB entered a Memorandum of Understanding with UNBS with the objective among others of promotion of quality in goods by among others enforcement of standards and intellectual property rights. URA through its customs department enforces border measures under the various IP laws (Section 86 Trademarks Act and section 56 of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act). URSB is exploring opportunities with UCC to ensure that content being broadcast or distributed by those entities licensed complies with the law specifically the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act (Section 28 of the Uganda Communications Commission Act). The NDA registers drugs and their brand names though the person registered for the brand name does not thereby acquire trademark rights under the Trademarks Act. As such there is a shared interest in ensuring that those brands registered by NDA acquire enforceable intellectual property rights. To that end URSB has jointly carried out sensitization and enforcement activities with NDA. URSB supervises Collective Management Organizations (CMOs). Twenty copyright inspectors from the licensed CMOs including Uganda Reproduction Rights Organisation, Uganda Performing Rights Society and Uganda Federation of Movie Industry were as mandated by law appointed Copyright Inspectors to enforce the law against piracy (Section 52 of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act).

4.4 Services, Page 43 (Para 4.34) The Report mentions mutual services liberalization plans of the EAC countries. Could the EAC member States provide more details concerning their vision of future policy in trade in services, in particular, intentions of participation in negotiations on disciplines on domestic regulation.

Reply: Uganda has a national policy on Trade in Services Trade and Strategy to guide among others, regional and multilateral trade in Services negotiations. At the WTO, Uganda participates in the Working Party on Domestic Regulation and currently serves as focal point in this area for the LDC Group in services.

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ARGENTINA

Reply: The WTO LDC services waiver expounds on the needs of our country in regard to the tourism sector. All services sectors contribute to the development of the Tourism Industry. For example; accommodation, Transport, Health-tourism, Creative industry, Arts & Designs, Culture Construction, ICT and Professional Services.

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EUROPEAN UNION

WT/TPR/S/384 – WTO Secretariat's Report, Paragraphs 1.16 and 1.17, page 12 "Extra-EAC trade in goods continues to display a deficit, with exports generally covering less than 50% of imports. The deficit recently narrowed from USD 25.3 billion in 2015 to USD 19.2 billion in 2017 as a result of falls in global prices of crude oil. Exports are dominated by commodities for which EAC countries are price takers: tea; coffee; cut flowers; and non-monetary gold. Imports are dominated by manufactured products, including fuels, chemicals (e.g. medicaments, fertilizers), and machinery and transport equipment." "In 2017, Kenya and Uganda are the major players in intra- EAC trade. Major traded goods across the region include agricultural products (e.g. sugar, maize, and vegetable and animal oils) and manufactured products (e.g. cement, steel and steel products, plastics and pharmaceuticals)."

What efforts are being made to reduce the trade deficit and to diversify the export commodities? Please indicate what measures have been taken and will be taken to increase the trade within the EAC?

Reply: The National Exports Development Strategy prioritises among others: export development of consortia, value chains, trade fairs & missions, market surveillance, etc. In addition, Uganda will work with EAC Partner States to improve overall infrastructure, removal of NTBs and participating in EAC fairs. Additionally, attention of FDIs for investment information and promotion in sectors such as Pharmaceuticals, processed foods, electronics and Motor vehicle assembly.

Paragraph 3.12, page 23 "Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have ratified the WTO TFA; the other EAC countries have not yet done so. All the countries have notified their category A commitments under the Agreement and have adopted a regional action plan for its implementation."

Reply: Uganda is yet to finalise categorization for B&C and undertake a thorough analysis on the financial needs. Support is needed to run the NTFC action plans and roadmap.

Paragraph 3.69, page 35 "Proposals for standards and technical regulations are received by NSBs. […] The "Draft EAC Standard" goes through a 60-day public comments stage. The Draft is then revised accordingly and sent to the NSBs. If accepted by all the NSBs, the Draft Standard is adopted and declared an "EAC standard" by the Council of Ministers. Countries have six months to adopt the EAC standard as a national one. The maximum duration allowed for the completion of a standard project is 24 months, from the proposal stage to the time of approval. As at 30 September 2018, the EAC catalogue included 1,526 standards, of which 1,007 are international."

Could EAC members explain what the status of the revised EAC Standards for Alcoholic Beverages is, and whether these standards have been fully transposed into their national legislation? If yes, could the final texts be notified and made available on the WTO TBT system? Please specify which challenges, if any have been faced to harmonize standards, particularly at the national level of implementation.

Reply: The aforementioned standards including; EAS 109:2018- Potable spirit — Specification, EAS 139:2018- Fortified wine — Specification, EAS 140:2018- Sparkling wine — Specification, EAS 141:2018- Whisky — Specification, EAS 142:2018- Vodka — Specification, EAS 143:2018- Brandy — Specification, EAS 144:2018- Neutral spirit — Specification, EAS 145:2018- Gin — Specification were gazetted as East African Standards by the EAC Secretariat in August 2018. The remaining two standards; DEAS 63:2018, Beer — Specification and DEAS 138:2018, Still table wine — Specification are currently under revision. The seven standards gazetted by the EAC Secretariat are under consideration in Uganda for national adoption by the National Standards Council. When the standards are adopted by the National Standards Council, Uganda will issue addenda to the original notifications indicating how the texts of the standards may be obtained.

Paragraph 4.50, page 45 "In practice, the free movement of workers within the EAC is restricted to selected highly-skilled workers, and craft and related trade workers. Free movement is further hindered by issues relating to, inter alia, the mutual recognition of professional qualifications and experience, procedures for obtaining WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

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work permits, and the inconsistent quality of training institutions. The EAC member States are currently amending their respective national policies, including laws and regulations, to conform to the CM Protocol." And Paragraph 3.2, page 7 (WT/TPR/G/384). "The citizens of EAC are at liberty to move freely across partner states with additional rights of residence and establishment in line with the national laws of the respective partner states…" The EU would like to know how the EAC Partner States address this issue in order to ensure free movement of people. What are the main challenges in this regard?

Reply: The main challenge is the harmonization of regulations and laws including divergence in administrative procedures. At the regional level, we are developing a monitoring tool for removal of restrictive barriers in free movement of service suppliers and workers.

Annex 5 Uganda, Paragraph 1.5, pages 357 and 358 "The Ugandan economy continued expanding during the 2011-17 period, with real GDP growth averaging 4.5% per year. Over the same period, per capita GDP increased from USD 732 to USD 773 in real term. According to the authorities, Uganda envisions graduating from LDC to a lower middle- income country by 2020, and to an upper middle-income country by 2040. Economic growth slowed to an annual rate of 2.6% in 2016, due to drought that adversely affected agricultural production and agro-processing; the spill over from regional conflict also had a negative impact on growth. With weather conditions improving, the GDP annual growth rate bounced back to 5.1% in 2017." The EU notes that Uganda plans to graduate from LDC to lower middle income status by 2020 (i.e. next year). The EU would like to know whether the government plans to review this goal and, if yes, what the new targets would be.

Reply: Given the current projections the country is unlikely to achieve this target next year. A new target will be set and included in the next National Development Plan (NDPIII) which is currently under preparation.

Paragraph 1.7, page 358 "Trade-related taxes are the major source of" Ugandan "revenue. In FY2016/17, taxes collected at the border accounted for 42% of total revenue. The risk of debt distress remains low. According to the IMF, Uganda's debt is projected to peak at 42% of GDP in FY2019/20, when the scaling-up of infrastructure investment is completed." However, according to the most recent IMF (article I) consultation debriefing held in Kampala, IMF revised upward the estimate of Uganda debt as a share of GDP at 49.5% in 2020, increasing the risk of debt distress.

Reply: The EU would like to know how Uganda intends to contain these rising debt levels and whether there are plans to increase import duties, VAT and indirect domestic taxes? Debt Sustainability: Uganda's debt remains sustainable with nominal debt to GDP of 41.5%, projected to remain sustainable in the medium to long term. Debt levels are comfortably below the operational thresholds of 50% debt to GDP, and significantly below the sub-Saharan average (45.4% debt to GDP). It is envisaged that Uganda's economy will sustain its debt levels, given that Government has prioritized: i. Enhanced domestic revenue efforts. Through a comprehensive Domestic Revenue Mobilization strategy (DRMS), Government aims to raise the revenue to GDP ratio by 0.5% annually. ii. The increase in domestic revenue will provide Government with the additional resources for financing development projects and service its debt obligations annually, without actually adjusting taxes rates, such as import duties, VAT or indirect domestic taxes; iii. Borrowing for mainly infrastructure projects to address current infrastructure gap (Transport, Energy, Industrial Infrastructure and Water for Production); iv. Investment in export-oriented areas to boost exports in order increase forex inflow and enable servicing of forex debt. v. Improved loan absorption by strictly adhering to the loan approval processes i.e. project preparation, negotiation and approval; vi. Selective and strategic financing options to minimize financing risks, with preference given to concessional financing; and vii. Uganda's development agenda is guided by high National priorities with expected high economic returns, as identified in the National Development Plan.

Paragraph 2.18, page 367 The Secretariat's report states that "All investment projects are subject to investment licensing requirements by the UIA [Uganda Investment Authority]. In practice, a threshold of USD 100,000 is WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

- 123 - applied to foreign investors and USD 50,000 to local investors. A local investor is defined as a company in which the local partner holds more than 50% of the shares. The licence is issued within three days at no cost. Pursuant to Section 13 of the Investment Code, foreign investors may be subject to a number of performance obligations (not imposed on national counterparts) as a condition for granting an investment licence. These include foreign exchange earnings, staff training and local employment, technological transfer, contribution to socio-economic development, and other obligations that the UIA may consider relevant for meeting the objectives of the Investment Code (e.g. investment size and environmental protection). These requirements referred to above distinguish between enterprises owned by Tanzania and by foreigners. Could Uganda guarantee that discriminatory provisions of its national law will not be applied?

Reply: The question talks about Tanzania enterprises and therefore Uganda thought it was not meant for our response. However, if this for Uganda's response, we wish to respond as follows: Uganda being an LDC welcomes foreign direct investment that contributes to technology transfer, employment, increased export earnings and thereby contributing to economic development of our country. This is in line with the aspirations of the WTO and the UN. Besides this, there are generous incentives for foreign investors who meet the qualification requirements in the Investment Code law 2019.

Paragraph 3.80, page 379 The EU notes that a significant number of fruits and vegetables exports to the EU have been rejected due to non-compliance of food safety requirements. The EU would like to know which measures have been taken or will likely be taken to strengthen the capacities of Crop Protection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) to ensure adequate Sanitary and Phyto- Sanitary standards for exports, notably to the EU.

Reply: Uganda appreciates the EU for the generous support in addressing SPS under the EPA-TAPSS, QUISP and Mark-UP project. Out of these we have developed SPS policy, trained farmers and exporters, undertook regulatory improvements. We look forward to continued cooperation under the auspices of the SPS Agreement, Article 9.

Paragraph 3.81 and 3.82, page 379 "Uganda has no national legislation to regulate competition or anti-trust cases. (…)" "Bills for a competition law and a consumer protection law have been drafted but have not yet been debated in the legislature." Could Uganda provide additional information on when the competition law is expected to be adopted?

Reply: The Bill is before Cabinet for approval and submission for Parliamentary debate.

3.3.3 (Sanitary and phytosanitary requirements), page 378. Could Uganda confirm that it accepts beef products according to OIE recommendations on bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Reply: Yes, we conform to OIE recommendations on bovine spongiform encephalopathy. However, we are cognisant of Article 3.3 of the SPS Agreement.

Paragraph 3.119, page 384 "The Commercial Court is responsible for hearing IP cases, including by artists and musicians in Uganda's Performing Arts Rights Society. The UNBS, the URA, and the Uganda Police Force (UPF) are responsible for enforcing the law on IP. In 2016, the URSB, in cooperation with the UPF, established the Intellectual Property Enforcement Unit. The Unit's role is the enforcement of the law against trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. It is reported that the enforcement efforts are constrained by inadequate resources and funding." Could Uganda elaborate on the civil and border enforcement measures the enforcement and customs authorities can take against goods or services suspected of infringing an intellectual property right and against goods and services which were found to infringe an intellectual property right?

Reply: Civil claims against infringement can be brought to the Magistrate's Courts or High Court Commercial Division depending on the pecuniary values involved. Remedies include injunctions, damages, account of profits, and forfeiture and destruction of infringing material. WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

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Regarding border measures, a trademark owner who has reasonable grounds for suspecting that some goods being imported bear an infringing trademark or that importation may take place, may lodge an application in writing with the court or Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) for the suspension by the customs department of the release into free circulation of the goods. The description of the infringing goods must be sufficiently detailed to enable their recognition by URA.

Table A1.3, page 410 and table A1.4, page 411

Could you please explain some changes in trade such as: a) the surge in merchandise exports to the United Arab Emirates between 2015 and 2016? b) the steady decline in merchandise imports from India between 2013 and 2017?

Reply: The surge in merchandise exports to UAE is on account of Gold exports whose export revenue increased significantly over the past 5 years after the establishment of the African Gold Refinery in Uganda. UAE is the main export destination of Ugandan gold. The value addition on unrefined gold attracted better international prices making Gold the second highest foreign exchange earner by 2016, after coffee. However, in 2018, Gold was the leading foreign exchange earner, surpassing coffee. b) The steady decline of merchandise imports from India between 2013 to 2017 could be attributed to the entry of China in the Ugandan market. During the past three years, imports from China steadily increased from US$ 886.2 million in 2016 to US$ 986.0 million in 2017 and US$ 1,184.2 million in 2018, making China the leading source of Ugandan merchandise imports. Meanwhile, the imports from India continued to plummet over the same period. Uganda imports mainly capital and finished goods from these two countries, where Chinese products could be preferred substitutes for the Indian products on account of affordability/favourable prices.

M) Trade Agreements and Arrangements: Page 366, Paragraph 2.13: When is the current status of Uganda's outstanding notifications?

Reply: A notification committee was constituted last year to handle all outstanding notifications during this calendar year.

N) 1.1. Customs procedures and requirements, Page 369, Paragraph 3.4: Uganda provides an import declaration form (C17) to traders in order to submit necessary documents electronically for goods to be released by Uganda Customs. Could Uganda note if Form C17 is available to the public for use online?

Reply: This form is available online via the URA web portal.

O) Tariff preferences: Under the EAC Common External Tariff, how do Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and implement their commitments under the COMESA FTA while Uganda only applies an 80% reduction in the CET rate to goods originating in other COMESA countries, excluding EAC members? Is the integrity of the CET maintained in light of different commitments made under the COMESA and SADC FTAs? Uganda accessed to the COMESA Free Trade Area in 2012, with a list of derogated products (Under the EAC Sensitive List). It is a must Uganda's derogation is to be phased out completely in accordance with the COMESA Treaty.

Reply: Uganda joined the COMESA FTA and give 100% reduction not 80% of goods originating from COMESA Partner States, except a few items for which phase down schedule is being developed within a reasonable time. Uganda remains at the forefront of driving regional integration.

P) Please explain whether Uganda applies a different amount reduction in the CET for goods originating in other COMESA countries compared to what Burundi, Kenya, and Rwanda apply for goods originating in other COMESA countries under the EAC-COMESA FTA. If so, please explain why.

Reply: The issues in P, have been addressed in O above. WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

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JAPAN

Report by the Secretariat (WT/TPR/S/384, Paragraph 6, page 5 According to paragraph 6 of the report by the secretariat, the negotiations on an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union were concluded in October 2014. For Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda, please state the progress in ratifying the agreement and share the domestic discussions regarding the EPA with the EU.

Reply: The EPA discussions are ongoing at the EAC Summit level and engagement with ongoing where the parties hoping to harmonize the concerns that some EAC partner States raise and once concluded, countries will have to go through the necessary national processes for ratification. At the country level, we are still engaging the EU and hopefully this process will bring positive results.

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AUSTRALIA

Report by the Secretariat (WT/TPR/S/384) – Annex 5 Uganda 2 Trade and Investment Regimes 2.4 Investment Regime Page 367, Paragraphs 2.19-2.19

The report states that, pursuant to Section 13 of the Investment Code, foreign investors may be subject to a number of performance obligations (not imposed on national counterparts) as a condition for granting an investment licence. These include foreign exchange earnings, staff training and local employment, technological transfer, contribution to socio-economic development, and other obligations that the UIA may consider relevant for meeting the objectives of the Investment Code (e.g. investment size and environmental protection). It states that, similarly, under the Petroleum Exploration, Development and Production Act, 2013 and the Petroleum Refining, Conversion, Transmission and Midstream Storage Act, 2013, investors are required to contribute to the creation of a local skilled workforce. The Uganda Investment Act does not specify mandatory numbers for local employment in management positions. According to the authorities, no performance appraisal regarding this matter has been carried out since the mid- 1990s. To encourage foreign investors to enter the Ugandan market, might Uganda consider reviewing its legislation to reduce obligations on foreign investors?

Reply: The recent Investment Code Act, 2019 provides incentives to foreign investors that meet the qualification requirements under the law. WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

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THAILAND

ANNEX 5 UGANDA Page 392 (Para 4.544.2.1. Mining) 3 TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE 3.1 Measures Directly Affecting Imports 3.1.2 Customs valuation Customs duties are assessed on the c.i.f. value of goods; insurance is mandatory except for inter-EAC transfer of goods. The URA uses its own exchange rates that are published on its website at the time it approves the customs declaration. A valuation database is used for purposes of reference and application of alternative valuation methods where a declaration is found unsatisfactory during the vetting process. The database of reference values is constituted from previously accepted transaction values. (Page 370)

Question We would like to ask that which alternative valuation method, Uganda utilize to determine the price of goods and how to apply for it.

Reply: The alternative methods used are the five methods other than the Transaction value method (Method 1 – also called the Principal method) that is provided for under the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation (ACV). These are a. Transaction value of identical goods (Method 20 b. Transaction value of similar goods (Method 3) c. Deductive method (Method 4) d. Computed method (Method 5) e. Fall –back method (Method 6) b. These methods are applied sequentially in deriving customs value.

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KOREA, REP. OF

Page 392 (Para 4.54 4.2.1. Mining) 4.54. On average, mining contributes about 0.7% to the economy. Over the period under review, production volumes of non-metallic minerals such as limestone, pozollana, and kaolin gradually increased, while production of metallic minerals fluctuated (Table 4.7). It seems that mineral exports continued to decline, except for gold. a. Does Uganda have a mechanism for ensuring that exported gold marked as Ugandan origin has actually originated from Uganda?

Reply: The sector has undergone streamlining and regulatory review and efforts have seen the setting up the African Gold refinery and artisan minors have streamlined operations. As a result, there's increased production and processing. Furthermore, there's a regional mechanism under Great Lakes countries that we endeavour to abide with. b. What is the Ugandan government's position on the report recently published by the Auditor- General Office of Uganda which discovered that some gold exported from Uganda did not possess the legitimate licenses as required by the Mining Act of Uganda?

Reply: The Auditor General's reports are submitted to Parliament in accordance to the constitution of Uganda. Any such issues that may have been raised are responded to by Government during consultation by the relevant committees. This has not yet happened and therefore the content of the report should not be treated as gospel truth. We have right control on mineral exports, including gold. If at the time of interacting with Parliament, there are loopholes as reported by the Auditor General, Government will remain committed to plugging such loopholes. c. What are the Ugandan government's plans to ensure that only entities with legitimate export licenses can export gold through customs?

Reply: Any Gold exported is legitimate.

Page 378 (Para 3.72) 3.72. The UNBS conducts market surveillance. Where necessary, it draws samples of the product for laboratory testing. Testing charges are imposed if samples are drawn for laboratory analysis. If the product does not meet the critical minimum requirements for health, safety, and performance, as set out in the relevant Ugandan Standard, the product is prohibited from entry on those grounds and seized for destruction or re-exportation at the importer's expense.

Reply: In respect of imports, Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is mandated to inspect imports under Section 21(1) of the UNBS Act which provides that no person shall import, distribute, manufacture, sell or have in his or her possession or control for sale or distribution any commodity for which a compulsory standard specification has been declared unless the commodity conforms to the compulsory standard specification. In addition, Section 7 of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (Inspection and Clearance of Imports) Regulations, 2018, provides that where the inspector determines that the commodities which are subjected to destination inspection do not conform to the compulsory standard specification, the inspector shall notify the relevant authorities and may refuse entry of the commodities into Uganda, or issue a notice to the importer to destroy or re-export the commodities. Furthermore, Section 13 of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (Inspection and Clearance of Imports) Regulations, 2018 provides that where a notice to destroy or re-export commodities is issued, the commodities shall within fourteen working days of the notice to destroy or re-export and at the expense of the importer; be destroyed, where the commodities do not pose a significant risk to the environment; or be re-exported to the country from which they were imported from, where the commodities pose a significant risk to the environment. The commodities for re-export shall not be re-exported to another country other than the country from which they were imported from. The destruction of the commodities for which a notice to destroy is issued is done in accordance with the applicable national laws.

WTO Member Section Question Response TURKEY 1.2 Recent Economic It is stated in the Secretariat Report Yes, qualitative analysis is undertaken, Developments, pg. 357-358, para. that "The Ugandan economy continued and this enables us to measure the 1.5 expanding during the 2011-17 period, impact of the drought and spill over of with real GDP growth averaging 4.5% regional conflict on foreign trade. per year. Over the same period, per Whenever we use qualitative analysis capita GDP increased from USD 732 to for this we mainly come up with USD 773 in real term. According to the statistical inferences to make robust authorities, Uganda envisions conclusions on the impact. We, for graduating from LDC to a lower middle- example, have registered a decline in income country by 2020, and to an our trade (both on exports and import upper middle-income country by 2040. sides) with our regional partners during Economic growth slowed to an annual times when they have experienced rate of 2.6% in 2016, due to drought unrest, suggesting a positive that adversely affected agricultural correlation between absence of conflict production and agro-processing; the in the region and foreign trade/regional

spillover from regional conflict also had trade. WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 a negative impact on growth. With weather conditions improving, the GDP annual growth rate bounced back to

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5.1% in 2017."

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Is there any qualitative analysis that

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calculates the impact of the drought and the spillover from regional conflict on foreign trade? If yes, could Uganda kindly provide further information

about the impact of the aforementioned issues on the foreign trade?

REPLIES BY TANZANIA

Section Question Response Section 3.1.7 The Secretariat notes that Kenya is the only EAC In 2004, Tanzania legislated the National Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Contingency measures country with national legislation on trade remedies. Measures Act (2004). Admittedly, the Act could not be implemented due to Page 33, Paragraph However, in Annex 4 to the Secretariat report (see omissions of some relevant domestic Union (Tanzania and Zanzibar) 3.53 Section 3.1.6; page 275, paragraph 3.32) Tanzania requirements. In this regard, the Government has consulted widely and is going states that since 2004 it has specific legislation on to propose to the Parliament to repeal the Act through the due processes. contingency measures. It appears this legislation was Therefore, the expected new Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures Act attached to the Tanzania TPR at footnote 23. The shall be notified to the WTO in the due course. United States notes that this legislation has not yet been notified to the relevant WTO Committees. Could the Secretariat please clarify whether Tanzania has developed national laws on the administration of trade remedies? If so, when will these laws be notified to the relevant WTO Committees? 3.3.3 Sanitary and Please explain why Tanzania has not ratified the SPS Tanzania is fully cognizant of the importance of the SPS. Also, we are aware of phytosanitary measures Protocol in light of all other EAC members ratifying the the importance of harmonizing SPS measures within the region. WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Page 36, Paragraph protocol. 3.73 While mindful to the importance of SPS issues, however, our internal consultation process has taken somehow longer than expected. Partly, this has

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been due to a large number of stakeholders (in the public and private sector) to 130

be involved before making sound decision. Presently, we are at the final stages

(awaits presentation to the Parliament). In that regard, Tanzania hopes to ratify - the EAC SPS Protocol in a very near period. 2.3.2 Regional and Please explain how Tanzania implements its This is implemented in accordance with Section 112 of the EAC CMA which preferential agreements commitments under the SADC FTA in light of Burundi, provides criteria for application of preferential treatment of goods imported

Page 257, Paragraph Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda's commitments under the under the SADC and COMESA arrangements. 2.18: COMESA FTA, of which Tanzania is not a member.

How does Tanzania and other EAC members maintain This is in accordance with the Section 112 of the EAC CMA which provides the integrity of the CET in light of overlapping and criteria for application of preferential treatment of goods imported under the mutually exclusive FTAs with COMESA and SADC? SADC and COMESA arrangements.

3.1.1 Customs According to the Secretariat Report, Tanzania's single The eSWS is yet to be completed. The development process is still underway. procedures, valuation, window system (eSWS) was expected to be finalized by We expect first phase to be implemented by June 2019. and requirements the end of 2018. Page 267, Paragraph Could Tanzania indicate if the eSWS system has now While eSWS is yet to be completed, Tanzania has made progress on areas of 3.3: been finalized and implemented? seamless clearance of goods. In fact, Tanzania, through our revenue authority (TRA), adopted ASCUDA+++, ASYSCAN, and Exemption Tracking System (ETS). These platforms were indeed helpful. However, cognizant to the importance of continuous improvement through adoption of efficient technologies, Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) developed the System, dubbed as Tanzania Customs Integrated System (TANCIS), to provide avenue to other OGDs who work hand in hand with Customs for clearance of goods. Indeed, TANCIS, which began in

Section Question Response 2014 and launched officially in July 2015, allows other OGDs to lodge the customs documents on the same entry thus reducing clearance time and cost. Does Tanzania plan to charge a fee associated with There is no intention to charge fees for the use of window once completed. traders' use of this portal? If so, will Tanzania publish those fees online? Page 267-268, The Secretariat Report notes that the Tanzania Revenue The procedures are well stipulate in the TRA website and can be accessed Paragraphs 3.2, 3.7: Authority (TRA) outlines procedures for importation on through the following link: its website, including that the clearance process must http://www.tra.go.tz/index.php/clearing-forwading-agents be carried out by a licensed clearing and forwarding agent. The TRA also requires licensing for some customs procedures pursuant to the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA), including in the area of licensing clearing and forwarding agents. Does Tanzania publish online the licensing requirements for clearing and forwarding agents?

Do Tanzania's licensing requirements for clearing and There is no difference. The requirements are in accordance with the provision of WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 forwarding agents differ with any requirements under the East African Community Customs Management Act (2004). All licenses are the EACCMA for agents who seek to work with other valid for a calendar year, that is, January to December. EAC members?

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Page 269, Paragraph The Secretariat Report notes Tanzania has not yet Tanzania has not yet ratified the TF Agreement. However, we are at the

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3.12: ratified the TFA and the Government expects to ratify advanced stage of the ratification process according to the domestic ratification

by the end of Fiscal Year 2018-2019. Tanzania has procedures. We expect, to have TF agreement ratified during the coming

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designated 5.9% of its commitments as Category A financial year 2019/2020. under the TFA, with 94.1% of measures under the Agreement remaining to be categorized as B or C. Two Full implementation of the TF Agreement including notification of categories B of Tanzania's commitments notified as Category A and C will be made after the ratification process has been completed.

under the Agreement, transparency notifications 1.4 and 10.6.2, have not been submitted to the WTO, to Though, Tanzania has not yet ratified TF Agreement, the Government has provide traders with the online locations of Tanzania's continued to undertake dedicated effort in improving business environment in information on customs procedures and processes and the country. the use of customs brokers. This information is due to the WTO upon Tanzania's ratification of TFA. Those efforts include, among other things, the following: Does Tanzania still intend to ratify the TFA by the end (e) Establishment and irrationalizing the National Trade facilitation Committee; of its Fiscal Year 2018-2019? (f) Launching of the BLUEPRINT which was approved by the Cabinet in 2018. The BLUEPRINT provides the Governments' main framework for enabling a holistic review of the business enabling environment in order to improve the business climate in Tanzania. It presents key challenges affecting the business environment in Tanzania along with a set of recommendations for reforms to put in place a more business friendly environment in the country. The BLUEPRINT seeks to put in place a framework for addressing regulatory hurdles and create a smart, functional, and fair business regulatory regime in Tanzania; (g) Introduction of the Online Registration System (ORS) which enables business community and public in general, to access all services offered by the Business

Section Question Response Registration and Licensing Agency (BRELA) wherever they are without physically visiting the respective offices; and (h) Infrastructure development in the form of roads, flyovers, rails ways, modernization of harbours and airports which are key enablers in facilitating trade. Could Tanzania provide a timeline for when it will This will be communicated to the WTO Secretariat shortly after the on-going submit information related to its transparency Trade Policy Review process is completed. notification 1.4 and 10.6.2 to the WTO? Page 269, Paragraph The Secretariat Report indicates that Tanzania has an Advancing ruling is issued formally according to the East African Community 3.14: informal procedure for issuing advance ruling on Customs Management Act Section 24 and it lasts for the period not exceeding customs classification matters, and that there is no 12 months from the date of issuance. central database for tracking them or disclosure of them to the public. The United States notes that as Tanzania pursues Article 3 on Advance Rulings under the TFA, Members to the Agreement are expected to at a minimum publish the requirements for the application

for an advance ruling, the time period by which it will WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 issue an advance ruling, and the length of time for which a ruling is valid. Does Tanzania have a timeline for formalizing its

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advance ruling process and publishing on the Internet

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the requirements for the application for an advance

ruling, the time period by which it will issue and

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advance ruling, and the length of time for which a ruling is valid? Does Tanzania provide for advance rulings on issues Advance ruling cuts across all three issues of classification, rules of origin and other than classification of goods, such as valuation or valuation as per Section 248A of the CMA (2015 amendment). Advance ruling

rules of origin? Are advance rulings valid throughout all issued by TRA are valid through all ports of entry. ports of entry? What is the time period for which an advance ruling is Advance ruling lasts for the period not exceeding 12 months from the date of valid? What is the process for appealing an advance issuance. The appeal is done by writing an official letter to the Commissioner of ruling in Tanzania? Customs. The decisions on appeal are issued as soon as possible. 3.1.6 Anti-dumping, According to Tanzania's TPR, Tanzania periodically In accordance to Plant Protection Act 1997, Plant Protection Regulations 1999 countervailing, and implements import restrictions on agriculture products. and various International Phytosanitary Standards Measures (ISPMS), Tanzania safeguard measures Please provide additional information regarding these impose restrictions on importation of commodities based on Pest Risk Analysis Page 274, Paragraph import restrictions. For example, please identify the (PRA) results to avoid the introduction of harmful organisms. 3.31: process for putting in place such restrictions, what products have had such restrictions put on them, and Restricted pesticides include: Ozone depleting agents like Methyl Bromide why were those restrictions were put in place. fumigants which are restricted under Montreal Protocol with the exceptional of fumigation on wood packaging materials. Section 3.3.6 Tanzania is neither a member or nor an observer to the Tanzania notes and appreciates for the suggestion. We will undertake further Government WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). consultations and analysis in the capital which will inform our position on this Procurement Becoming an observer to the GPA would allow Tanzania suggestion. Page 284, Paragraph to engage with other countries on matters relating to 3.78: government procurement and would not require

Section Question Response Tanzania to take on any obligations. Will Tanzania consider becoming a GPA observer? Page 285, Paragraph The Secretariat Report notes that Tanzania provides a Section 3 of the Public Procurement Act. CAP. 410 as Amended in 2016, defines 3.80: preference for local bidder, and that there is a "national " Local Firm" means a firm whose majority share capital is owned by citizens of tender" mechanism for procurements that fall under the United Republic" certain thresholds for goods, works, and services. How does Tanzania define "domestic" or "local" for • Section54 (2) of the PPA states that; The procuring entity shall, when procuring goods, works, and services? Is it based on the goods, works or services by means of international or national tendering, or nationality of the firm or through some other method? when evaluating and comparing tenders, grant a margin of preference for the benefit of tenders for certain goods manufactured, mined, extracted or grown in the United Republic, for works by Tanzania contractors or services provided by Tanzania consultants, provided that this is clearly stated in the tender documents subject to the provisions prescribed in the regulations made under this Act.

The Authority enforces compliance of the Procurement Act to Procuring entities

and develops procurement guidelines for the same. WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Does Tanzania collect statistics on the country of origin Yes, Tanzania collects relevant statistics in relation to country of origin of of goods, works, and services that it procures? goods. In practice, TANCIS automatically requires for the details of the country of origin of a particular consignment at the time of declaration.

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As regards to services, efforts are in advanced stage to start collecting data on

trading in services by country of origin. The arrangement will involve

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commercial banks which facilitate payment of trade in services. 3.3.7 Intellectual The Report notes that work on developing a national IP The IP Policy and its Strategy is in final stage of approval. property rights strategy was underway as of October 2018. The draft IP Policy addresses: the conventional issues of industrial property Page 287, Paragraph Please provide an update on this work, and, if possible, ranging from patents, Utility Model, trade and service Marks to geographical

3.91: identify key topics under consideration. Please also indications, traditional knowledge and folklore as well as copyrights, provide information on how the success of this strategy neighbouring rights. In addition, this policy also sets a national position on wide will be evaluated. array of issues of intellectual. The implementation strategy details how M&E framework will be conducted. Page 288, Paragraph The Report provides a brief summary of the Copyright Tanzania is in a process to amend its Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 3.94: and Neighboring Rights Act. That law dates back to No. 7 of 1999 (Mainland) and the Copyright Act No. 14 of 2003 (Zanzibar). 1999. Is there any consideration to amending that law, We have already done stakeholders meetings both in Tanzania Mainland and in especially given the adoption of various international Zanzibar. In so doing, we have received comments from the World Intellectual treaties (such as the WIPO Copyright Treaty, the WIPO Property Organization (WIPO) on the recommendations. The draft is now at the Performances and Phonograms Treaty, the Marrakesh stage of being tabled at the Cabinet Secretariat. Treaty) since then? One of the recommendations is to have provisions from the Internet Treaties, Beijing Treaties and Marrakesh Treaties.

In Zanzibar, the current stage is to present it to the Management Committee, Principal Secretaries Committee, Ministerial Committee then to House of Representative.

Section Question Response Additionally, Tanzania is also in a process to sign the four treaties namely the WIPO Copyright Treaty, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, Beijing Treaty, and the Marrakesh Treaty.

Tanzania through the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Mainland), Ministry of Youth, Culture, Arts and Sports (Zanzibar), the Copyright Society of Tanzania (COSOTA), the Copyright Society of Zanzibar (COSOZA), and Tanzania League of the Blind has done Stakeholders meetings regarding Beijing Treaty. It is now to be tabled at the Cabinet Secretariat.

Regarding the Internet Treaties, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Mainland), Ministry of Youth, Culture, Arts and Sports (Zanzibar), the Copyright Society of Tanzania (COSOTA), and the Copyright Society of Zanzibar (COSOZA) will conduct stakeholders' meetings for signing of the three treaties. Page 259 (Para 2.28) The Secretariat Report notes that "There are a We understand, it's a global practise to have some areas of business exclusively number of other areas where foreign investors may not reserved to local people. Likewise, in Tanzania, there are some areas of

operate or do business in Tanzania, or where business reserved for local people. For example, foreign investors cannot WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 restrictions are prohibitive" and gave the example of operate in inland water fishing, trading in ornamental fish business. These the tourism, extractive and fisheries sectors. Could restrictions are provided for in Fisheries Act No. 22 of 2003. Tanzania elaborate on whether it has plans to expand

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the list of such sectors or impose new requirements for Regarding the tourism, currently, the most ideal investment area or

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foreign investors which would like to operate in these opportunities within the Tourism industry are Beach tourism, Accommodation

sectors in Tanzania? facilities, Convention centres and Cruise Terminals. The government of

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Tanzania has initially set aside guiding laws and regulations regarding the said areas, where interested investors are invited to walk in and invest in whichever area of their interest without prohibition. Among the listed areas of investment as stipulated in the Tourism Act, 2008 Section 21.

However, in Section 58 of the Act, prohibits foreign investors to invest in the following areas: - Mountain Climbing or Trekking, Car Rental or Hire, Travel Agents, Handling Agents and Tour Guide only (Foreigner Tour Guide can be given a permit under special circumstances). Meanwhile, the Government is considering expanding other areas in tourism. Page 260 (Paras 2.34 – The Secretariat Report notes that the The government is currently reviewing its tax laws and outcomes will be 2.35) telecommunications sector is designated as a priority announced. sector by the government (Para 2.34), and that the tax exemptions granted to investments in telecommunication firms have been removed (Para 2.35). Could Tanzania elaborate on whether it has plans to remove tax exemptions in the other priority sectors?

Section Question Response Agriculture, Forestry, Question Given the importance of the fisheries sector in IUU fishing is a big threat to Tanzania. This is commonly in the Exclusive and Fisheries Tanzania, please indicate whether/the extent to which it Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country where there are some foreign fishing 4.1.3 Fisheries (Page is facing the threat of Illegal, Unregulated and fleets. To overcome this, the country has established the Deep-Sea Fishing 306) Unreported (IUU) fishing and the effort it has Authority mandated for licensing of the vessels intends to fish in the EEZ. undertaken and/or is planning to undertake to address Furthermore, the authority is responsible for monitoring compliance to licensed this issue. vessel through monitoring and surveillance programmes.

Fighting against IUU fishing is not an easy task and mostly for developing countries like Tanzania. It is a costly exercise and due to resources constraints, LDCs, cannot afford to conduct surveillance 24hrs to curb illegal fishing.

Tanzania, in collaboration with neighbouring countries conduct joint patrols to fight against illegal fishing, though not as much as it would have been expected. Part II: Questions Question Though what means, if any, do the EAC EAC SECRETARIAT Regarding The countries promote mutually supportive trade and

Government Report environmental policies, high levels of environmental WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 protection and effective enforcement of environmental The Strengths and laws, whether they be in agriculture, fisheries, forestry Potential of the EAC or other sectors?

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Member States (Pages

135 8-12)

A Dynamic Trade Policy Within the framework of WTO General Agreement on EAC SECRETARIAT

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Overall Framework Trade in Services, the EAC countries made specific commitments across 11 sectors, namely, business services; communication; tourism; transport; financial; education; environment; recreational, cultural and

sporting; health; distribution and construction; and related engineering services. Tourism services is the only common sector committed by all EAC countries. At the EAC level, EAC countries have concluded negotiations in seven sectors, namely: business; communication; distribution; financial; tourism and transport, where they have made deeper commitments to open their markets further than at the WTO GATS level to facilitate the implementation of the common market. (Page 13) Question EAC has mentioned in the report that they have concluded negotiations in seven sectors but only six services sectors have been provided. Which is the remaining sector? In addition, please, elaborate on the specific commitments of the services sector, which are beyond the WTO/GATS level in term of Market Access, National Treatment or Additional Commitment.

Section Question Response Report by the "2.5 In matters related to trade with third parties, EAC EAC SECRETARIAT Secretariat countries negotiate in principle as a bloc. Under the (WT/TPR/S/384-01) Customs Union Protocol, a member may separately negotiate bilateral trade agreements, subject to Page 16, para 2.5-2.6 notification to the other members. Such agreements should not conflict with the provisions of the Customs Protocol. In principle, pursuant to the Trade Negotiations Act, 2008, negotiations are led by a Joint Trade Negotiations Commission. However, according to the authorities, the Act has never been operationalized…

2.6. The 2016 EAC Trade Negotiations Framework (TNF) is the main reference for trade negotiations with third parties.5 Its goal is to ensure that the Community's interests are properly considered in trade

negotiations. Under the TNF, EAC's priority areas in WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 trade negotiations include: the elimination of trade barriers related to customs, SPS and TBT issues; rules of origins that promote industrialization and value

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addition within the EAC; and the pursuit of tariff

136 liberalization while ensuring the protection of "sensitive"

sectors, infant industries and SMEs. "

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1. Under the Customs Union Protocol, a member may separately negotiate bilateral trade agreements, subject to notification to the other members.

Question: It is mentioned in the report that "Under the Customs Union Protocol, a member may separately negotiate bilateral trade agreements, subject to notification to the other members." In this sense, can EAC countries negotiate bilateral trade agreement with another country at their discretion? Is it required additionally to apply for authorization from EAC before the initiation of a bilateral FTA? Page 20, para 2.30 "2.30. All EAC countries are members of the African EAC SECRETARIAT Union (AU). Negotiations for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) were launched in June 2015, and a consolidated text (the Protocol on Trade in Goods; the Protocol on Trade in Services; the Protocol on Rules; and the Procedures on the Settlement of Disputes) was adopted in March 2018. As at August 2018, 49-member States had signed the AfCFTA, and 6, including Kenya and Rwanda, had ratified it. "

Section Question Response Question 2. It is reported that the Africa is actively pushing forward the establishment of AfCFTA. Will it have an impact on the economic and trade cooperation between EAC and other WTO Members? Questions based on "1.7. The EAC countries are members of other regional EAC SECRETARIAT Report by the EAC economic communities (RECs), namely, Common (WT/TPR/G/384) Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA): Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda; Inter- Page3, para 1.7 Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD): Burundi, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda; Economic Community for Central African States (ECCAS): Burundi and Rwanda; and Southern African Development Community (SADC): Tanzania. All the EAC Countries are members of the African Union; the World Customs Organization, the World Health Organization, among others. In addition, the EAC Countries have signed the

Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA) and the African WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and are in the process of ratifying them. Kenya and Uganda have ratified both the AfCFTA and TFTA, while Rwanda has

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ratified the AfCFTA. "

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Question 3. Some EAC countries are members of

different regional economic communities (RECs)

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simultaneously. In this case, how could an EAC country deal with such overlap or disparity among intricate rules and provisions of different RECs when conducts negotiating FTAs with another country?

PART I: Questions Under the Report, the EAC countries continue to EAC SECRETARIAT Regarding the experience challenges in the harmonization of their Secretariat Report regimes on SPS-related measures, standards and (WT/TPR/S/384) technical regulations, particularly concerning the mutual East African Community recognition of inspection certificates, and this (EAC) contributes to further increasing trade costs in the Summary region. Page 7 (Para 17) According to available information, Ukrainian companies are also adversely affected by burdensome certification procedures when exporting products to the EAC member States.

Questions: Ukraine would appreciate if the EAC countries could share their views and intentions concerning possible simplification of current certification regime, in particular for such items as food products, cosmetics,

Section Question Response pharmaceuticals, household chemicals, fertilizers and seeds. Are there any plans for possible termination of EAC SECRETARIAT necessity to obtain certificates for abovementioned goods? What authorities are responsible for making decisions in EAC SECRETARIAT this area at EAC level and in individual EAC countries? What potential mechanism for cooperation between EAC EAC SECRETARIAT members and third countries can be envisaged in the area of certification? 1 ECONOMIC The Report states, "Efforts are ongoing with a view to EAC SECRETARIAT ENVIRONMENT strengthening financial operations within the region. 1.1 Main Features of the The African Development Bank is funding the EAC Community Payment and Settlement Systems Integration Project Page 10 (Para 1.6) (EAC-PSSIP). The objective of the Project is to contribute to the modernization, harmonization and

cross-border interoperability of payment and settlement WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 systems for commercial, securities market and retail transactions across the EAC. A cross-border payment system was launched in 2013, allowing traders in the

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Community to conduct real-time transactions in their

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local currencies. In 2018, the East African Legislative

Assembly passed the East African Monetary Institute

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Bill, establishing the EAC Monetary Institute as a transitional institution in charge of carrying out the preparatory work for the monetary union."

Questions: 5. Taking into account involvement of the EAC member States' banks and financial institutions in this process, could the EAC, please, describe indicators of a non- transparent ownership structure and approaches to revealing banks' beneficial owners, which are used by the central banks in the EAC countries? What are the types of activities of non-banking financial EAC SECRETARIAT institutions requiring authorization/licensing? What are the key requirements to non-banking financial EAC SECRETARIAT institutions applying for the authorization/licensing? What are the approval procedures, including verification EAC SECRETARIAT of sources of funds used for capital formation, assessment of financial standing, business reputation and transparency of applicants' ownership structure? 2 TRADE AND According to the Report there is no investment EAC SECRETARIAT INVESTMENT REGIMES agreement between EAC members, although their 2.5 Investment Regime

Section Question Response Page 20 (Para 2.33) objective is to promote the Community as a single investment area.

Question: 9. In the context of the investment regime and the EAC's objective to "promote the Community as a single investment area", could the EAC elaborate on the harmonization proposals for VAT and excise taxes rates that were developed for consideration by the finance ministers in November 2018, as well as on the results of such deliberations? 3 TRADE POLICIES AND The Report states that the EAC Treaty requires the EAC SECRETARIAT PRACTICES BY countries to harmonize sanitary and phytosanitary MEASURE (SPS) measures for pest and disease control. Under the 3.3 Measures Affecting Customs Union Protocol, the EAC countries are to Production and Trade cooperate in several areas, including SPS measures. In

3.3.3 Sanitary and this context, an SPS Protocol was developed in 2013, WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 phytosanitary measures based on the provisions of the WTO SPS Agreement. As Page 36 (paragraphs of December 2017, harmonized measures and 3.72 – 3.73) procedures have been developed for plants; mammals,

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birds and bees; fish and fishery products; and food

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safety.

According to information, provided in Table 3.8 (Para

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3.72), in the absence of relevant EAC standards and member States' standards in the area of food safety, international food and feed safety standards, such as Codex Alimentarius, IPPC and OIE, must be used.

To date, the SPS Protocol has been ratified by Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Uganda. Questions: Would the East African Community kindly confirm that harmonization of its SPS measures is based on international standards, guidelines or recommendations, as required under the WTO SPS Agreement? 11. Have mentioned harmonized measures and procedures being already used in the EAC countries? Have mentioned harmonized measures and procedures EAC SECRETARIAT being already used in the EAC countries? Does the EAC undertake any type of consultations with EAC SECRETARIAT domestic and international stakeholders during this process? What are particularities of control, inspection and EAC SECRETARIAT approval procedures in case of the absence of relevant EAC standards and member States' standards in the

Section Question Response area of food safety? What competent bodies are responsible for undertaking such procedures at import stage? Ukraine would also appreciate if Tanzania could inform Response provided in Answer No. 2 by United States above of its status and plans of participation in the process of harmonization of SPS measures and procedures at the EAC level. Page 36 (Para 3.74) The Report mentions a mutual recognition procedure for EAC SECRETARIAT veterinary vaccines and pharmaceuticals, which was adopted in 2015, together with a harmonized registration system.

Questions: Could the EAC, please, elaborate more on mentioned mutual recognition procedure for veterinary vaccines and pharmaceuticals and harmonized registration

system? WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Are these procedure and system applied in all EAC EAC SECRETARIAT member States? 3.3.5 Intellectual According to the Report "Counterfeiting and piracy of Regarding the Piracy, Tanzania is in a Process to sign the WIPO Copyright

- property rights trademarks and copyrights remain a serious challenge Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty and to amend the

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Page 38 (Para 3.83) to IPR protection in the region". Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act No. 7 of 1999.

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Question: Tanzania Mainland through a formalization Committee comprising of the Would the EAC member States kindly inform how they Copyright Society of Tanzania, Tanzania Film Board, National Arts council and are planning to address these matters, considering that Tanzania Revenue Authority fight piracy and have more plans to strengthen the only Burundi is a member of WIPO Copyright Treaty, fighting against piracy in Mainland Tanzania. However, Tanzania will continue to

and only Kenya has acceded to the Madrid Agreement have more Ad Hoc Task Force raids comprising of all stakeholders in counterfeit Concerning the International Registration of Marks? and piracy.

For the Zanzibar, task force committee comprise of, Police, Zanzibar Revenue Board, the Copyright Society of Zanzibar, right holders, Zanzibar Arts and Music Council and Immigration. TRADE POLICIES BY The Report mentions mutual services liberalization EAC SECRETARIAT SECTOR plans of the EAC countries. 4.4 Services Question: Page 43 (Para 4.34) Could the EAC member States provide more details concerning their vision of future policy in trade in services, in particular, intentions of participation in negotiations on disciplines on domestic regulation in services? THE STRENGTHS AND Paragraph 4.4. of the Report WT/TPR/G/384 indicates EAC SECRETARIAT POTENTIAL OF THE EAC that the EAC countries are rolling out other trade MEMBER STATES facilitation initiatives including: trade portals, call centres and business development services.

Section Question Response Business Environment In this regard, could the EAC provide further information on trade facilitation measures for the provision of business development services available to Members that are not part of the Community? A DYNAMIC TRADE Paragraph 5.4. of the Report WT/TPR/G/384 mentions EAC SECRETARIAT POLICY that within the framework of the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services, the EAC countries 5.1Overall Framework have made specific commitments across 11 sectors, namely, business services; communication; tourism; transport; financial; education; environment; recreational, cultural and sporting; health; distribution and construction; and related engineering services. Tourism services is the only common sector committed by all EAC countries.

From the perspective of the EAC Members regarding

tourism services: WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1

What would be the main areas of interest to improve GATS commitments in "services related to tourism and

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travel"?

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What service sectors could be considered related to the EAC SECRETARIAT

development of the tourism industry?

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3 TRADE POLICIES AND "There have been no significant improvements in Under the current review period, the clearance time have reduced to 9.4 days PRACTICES BY customs clearance times during the review period and, for ports and 3 days at airport. This has happened due to the following: MEASURE in some cases, some deterioration has occurred. For Paragraph 3.5, page example, the average time to clear goods through Dar • The introduction of the Tanzania Customs Integrated System (TANCIS) which

267 es Salaam port increased from 9 to 11 days during the simplified the clearing process. The system has been linked to OGDs review period. This can be attributed to changes in responsible for clearing goods; moving from an outside company to insourcing all • Port expansion to reduce congestion; customs processing, larger volumes of trade, and more• Operationalization of One Stop Border Post (OSBP) and Single Customs goods in transit." Territory; and • 24/7 hours' workings at all point of entries. EU Question N°78: Could Tanzania provide reassurance to importers that customs procedures and clearance times will improve in the near future, and how do they expect this improvement to be achieved? Paragraph 3.69, page "The Act provides that all commercial activities and The Government is studying the impact (advantages and disadvantages) of FCA 282 bodies are subject to its provisions, including state- on sectors that are currently included. Should the facts dictate the need to owned enterprises (SOEs) engaged in commerce. extend the scope of the FCA to sectors that are currently excluded, then the Although state enterprises are covered, they are not Government (everything else given) may potentially decide to do so. liable for penalties or offenses under the Act. The FCA does not control anti-competitive practices in a number of sectors where there is a regulator. These include the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority

Section Question Response (EWURA) for the energy and water sectors; the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA) for surface and marine water transport; the BOT for banking services; the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority for civil aviation; and the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority for electronic and postal matters."

EU Question N°79: Does Tanzania envisage to extended penalties or offenses under the Act to SOEs? Does Tanzania envisage to extend the scope of the FCA to sectors that are currently excluded? Paragraph 3.73, page "The number of cases regarding competition over the Number of applications dealt with from January 2018 to date is 78. Among 283 review period was 25. There has been a steady rise in which 56 approved without conditions, 5 approved with conditions, and 17 the number of merger applications dealt with, rising ongoing mergers. The major five sectors under acquisitions are: from 24 in 2012 to 61 in 2017." (vi) Energy and Petroleum sector; (vii) Telecommunications;

EU Question N°80: Could Tanzania provide additional(viii) Banking sector; WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 details on the enforcement record of the Fair (ix) Insurance; and Competition Commission (FCC) (number and types of (x) Manufacturing. cases treated, type of decision taken, sectors

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concerned, etc.)?

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Paragraph 3.95, page "The new legislation in 2012 on plant breeders' rights In Tanzania, the Plant Breeders' Rights (PBR) Office started the initiatives to

288 for the Mainland created a new and independent align its Act with the UPOV system by putting in place a law which is compliance

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protection system for plant varieties that were not to the UPOV Convention of 1991. registrable under the Patents Act. It establishes a Plant Breeders' Rights Registry for the granting of plant Conditions of protection: The protection of varieties under the PBR Act 2012 breeders' rights and for the facilitation of the transfer is applied to all plant genera and species:

and licensing of plant breeders' rights. It also sets out(g) The breeder's right shall be granted with respect to a variety which is new, criteria or conditions for varieties that may be distinct, uniform and stable; protected. The Zanzibar Plant Breeders Rights Act, (h) The grant of the breeder's right shall not be subject to any further or different 2014 mirrors the Mainland's Act, and basically contains conditions, provided that the variety is designated by a denomination which be the same or similar provisions." its generic designation and no rights in the designation registered as the denomination of the variety that shall hamper the free use of the denomination EU Question N°81: Could Tanzania explain how the in connection with the variety even after the expiration of the breeder's right. new protection system of new plant varieties works in The applicant complies with the formalities provided for under this Act and that Tanzania? We would like to get more information in he pays the required fees; particular about the preconditions to get protection for(i) Shall enable the variety to be identifiable; a new plant variety, the scope of protection and if (j) Shall not be liable to mislead or to cause confusion concerning the Tanzania applies the breeder's exception and the characteristics, value or identity of the variety or the identity of the breeder; farmers' privilege and if it does, what the scope of (k) Shall be different from every denomination which designates, in the territory of these exceptions is. any member of international organization dealing with plant breeders rights matters to which Tanzania is a party, an existing variety of the same plant species or of a closely related species; and (l) May not consist solely of figure except where this is an established practice for designating varieties.

Section Question Response Furthermore, the breeder's right shall be granted with respect to:-

Novelty. The variety shall be deemed to be new if at the date of filling of the application for a breeder's right, propagating or harvested materials of the variety has not been sold or otherwise disposed off to any person by or with the consent of the breeder for the purposes of exploitation of the variety: a) in the territory of the United Republic of Tanzania, earlier than one year before the date of filling the application, b) in a territory other than that of the United Republic of Tanzania: i) earlier than four years; or ii) in the case of trees or vines, earlier than six years before the said date. Distinctness: A variety shall be deemed to distinct where it is clearly distinguishable from any other variety whose existence is a matter of common knowledge at the time of filling of the application Uniformity: A variety shall be deemed to be uniform if, subject to the variation that may be expected from the particular features of its propagation, it is sufficiently uniform in its relevant characteristics

Stability: A variety shall be deemed to be stable, where its relevant WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 characteristics remain unchanged after repeated propagation or in the case of a particular cycle of propagation, at the end of each cycle.

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Additionally, the application is accompanied by a fee prescribed in the PBR

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regulation 2018 (US$-200)

The scope of protection:

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3) The breeder's right granted under PBR Act 2012 shall expire after twenty years from the date of the grant except for trees and vines whose breeder's right shall expire after twenty-five years from the date of grant. 4) The term may be extended for an additional five years, by a written notice to

the registrar given by the holder of the breeder's right six months before the expiration of the original term.

Tanzania applies the breeder's exception and farmers' privilege with the following conditions in which the breeder's right shall not extend to: (m) Acts done privately and for no-commercial purposes; (n) Acts done for experimental purposes; and (o) Acts done for the purpose of breeding other varieties

In addition, the breeders rights shall not extend to a farmer who, within reasonable limits and subject to safeguarding of the legitimate interests of the holder of the breeder's right, uses for propagating purposes on his own holding, the product of the harvest which he has obtained by planting on his own holding, the protected variety or a variety that is essentially derived from the protected variety where the protected variety is not itself an essentially derived variety.

Section Question Response TRADE POLICIES BY The Secretariat's report refers to possible restrictions TBD SECTOR based on the "Natural Wealth and Resources Act", Paragraphs 4.68, 4.69 "Natural Wealth and Resources Contracts Act", Written and 4.70, pages 310 Laws Act" (2017), the "Local Content and 311 Regulations"/Mining Act (2018) and "Mining regulations" (2016/2018). "The Government may render existing mining contracts null and void". EU Question N°82: These requirements referred to above distinguish between enterprises owned by Tanzania and by foreigners. Could Tanzania guarantee that discriminatory provisions of its national law will not be applied? Paragraph 4.114, page Important changes were introduced in 2017 to the The requirement for two-thirds local ownership and control of insurance brokers 327 Insurance Act including the requirement that insurance is aimed at enhancing the participation of Tanzanians in the insurance sub- brokers be at least two-thirds owned and controlled by sector. Prior to this change, the requirement was one-third local ownership – Tanzanian citizens (previously it was one-third). This which has worked fairly well. There are no evidences that the increased ratio of

would seriously limit foreign companies' willingness to local ownership and control of insurance brokers has reduced foreign WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 invest in the financial sector of Tanzania with investment in the insurance sector. The Government is studying the impact of consequent reductions of foreign investment in this the increased requirement and may consider reversing the change, should the economic sector. facts dictate the need to do so.

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EU Question N°83: Would Tanzania consider reversing However, in the event there is a serious investor who desires to establish an

144 this recent change? insurance broking firm in Tanzania and has a difficulty in complying to the two-

thirds local ownership requirements, Section 140 of the Insurance Act

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empowers the Minister of Finance to grant an exemption to such an investor from complying to the said requirement if he considers it to be in public interest, and subject to any terms and conditions he may think fit to impose Paragraph 4.115, page A new circular was issued in 2017 which put in place The main objective of the said Circular is to address key challenges in

327 new restrictions on foreign reinsurers and reinsurance reinsurance dealings within the industry which include, but not limited to, the brokers. The main provisions of the circular are following aspects: amongst others that all foreign reinsurance arrangements are subject to prior approval by the (i) Excessive use of International Facultative Reinsurance Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA) Arrangements even in situations and cases which could safely whereby insurers seeking to externalise an insurance be accommodated under Treaty Reinsurance Arrangements; risk must first attempt to use the services of locally (ii) 100% externalization (fronting) of risks which could partly be registered insurance brokers. The circular also retained locally; introduces an additional levy for facultative placements (iii) Poor involvement of local insurance companies in participating outside the country. This might seriously limit in assuming parts of risks intended to be externalized through Tanzanian insurers to benefit from potentially lower co-insurance arrangements; prices and expertise from foreign reinsurers which will (iv) Dealing with poorly rated or unrated foreign reinsurers; ultimately harm the national insurance sector. (v) Dealing with un-accredited reinsurance companies and EU Question N°84: Would Tanzania consider reversing reinsurance brokers (whose legal and financial standing is this recent change? unknown); and (vi) Concealing of ultimate destination of reinsurance premium payments through the use of reinsurance brokers or a series of reinsurance brokers.

Section Question Response So far, the provisions of the Circular have worked well having enabled the Government to reduce irregular reinsurance practices in the market whilst providing a conducive environment for the prudent and financial sound reinsurance companies and brokers (both foreign and local) to participate in the Tanzania insurance business. The Government is not planning to reverse the requirements of the Circular. Table A1.3, page 342 Question N°85: Could you please explain some The merchandise exports from Switzerland rose from 304,642.7 Tshs in and table A1.6, page changes in trade such as: a) the variations in 2015 to 414,033.9 Tshs. in 2017 345 merchandise exports to Switzerland between 2015 and 2017? b) the recent increase in merchandise exports to Exports from Viet Nam Vietnam? c) the steady decline in merchandise exports The merchandise exports rose from 138,425 in 2015 to 699,593.4 in 2017 to China between 2014 and 2017? d) the variations in merchandise imports from India between 2014 and Exports from China 2017? The merchandise exports declined from 645.9 in 2015 to 142.3 in 2017

Variation in Merchandise imports from India was 2,147.6 in 2015 to

1,408.1 in 2017 WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Paragraph 3.12, page According to the Annex-4 paragraph 3.12, Tanzania See response to Question No. 9 by the United States 269 plans to ratify the Trade Facilitation Agreement by the end of FY 2018/19. Please share the status quo with the

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Members.

145 th

Report by the The report states that, in 2018, Tanzania ranked 137 Some efforts are being taken by the Government to improve ease of doing

Secretariat in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings business. These include the following:

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(WT/TPR/S/384) – and was 15th among sub-Saharan African countries. Annex 4 Tanzania Tanzania's position has gradually deteriorated over the(v) Export and Import procedures and requirements are easily available in Tanzania 2 Trade and Investment review period; Tanzania was ranked 127th in 2012. The Revenue Authority website and in websites of other government departments Regimes Government has recognized this situation and has and in the Trade Information Portal/Module;

2.4 Investment Regime identified four areas in particular for improvement - (vi) Freedom of transit is offered; 2.4.5 Business business licensing, land reforms, registration of (vii) Ongoing various infrastructures developments to support trade including power environment and businesses, and registration of persons. projects; and taxation (viii) BLUEPRINT implementation to address specific concerns by the private sector to Page 264, Paragraph Question 28 further enhance and improve business environment in the country. 2.43 What steps is Tanzania be taking to improve its ease of doing business ranking? We have established the National Committee on Trade Facilitation to oversee the implementation of trade facilitation issues in the country.

FROM ZANZIBAR In improving ease of doing business ranking several steps has been taken. These includes: (iv) Establishment of electronic registration process to ease the process of business start-up. In this process business registration application can be done online. Thus, the application procedures have been reduced from 10 steps to 3; (v) Reform of business licensing regime, whereby an entity (Business licensing Reform Council – BLRC) has been established to simplify and streamlining licensing procedures and eliminate unnecessary steps and time-consuming

Section Question Response procedures in obtaining licenses. The entity has set guidelines of procedures or steps to be followed by all licensing Authorities. Under these guidelines, the procedures and steps of licensing application has been reduced from 10-20 up to from 1 – 7; and (vi) Strengthening one stop centre in processing application of investment certificate.

However, there are plans for every licensing Authority to establish online licensing application and e- payment system. To reduce administrative burdens in the application of license.

Also, there is programme underway of establishment of one window clearance at the port that aim at the compilation of all documents required at the entry point during the process of exportations and importation of goods. This will reduce number of documents required and time. Question 29 TBD

Could Tanzania provide more information on any WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 initiatives underway or planned to improve business licensing, land reforms, registration of businesses, and registration of persons?

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Report by the The report describes policy changes made by Tanzania

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Secretariat towards the mining sector, such as the Government's

(WT/TPR/S/384) – power to render existing mining contracts null and void,

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Annex 4 Tanzania increased royalty tax rates, the holding of the country's national resources in trust by the President, the review of existing natural resource contracts and the adjudication of investment disputes in domestic courts.

The report also describes changes made by the Local Content Regulations 2018. Question 30 Australia commends Tanzania for changes recently made to its Local Content Regulations 2018. Does Tanzania intend to amend other regulations under the Mining Act to ensure compatibility with the legal and commercial requirements that typically apply to project debt financing for foreign investors? Question 31 The amendments made to the Mining Act Cap 123 in 2017 repealed sections 37 Could Tanzania provide clarity on how it intends to deal and 38 which provided for the retention licences. All repealed retention Licences with existing retention licences? were reverted to the Government. The Government may assign them to any person as it may deem appropriate. Question 32 • Government acquisition of 16% free carried interest is a legal requirement Could Tanzania clarify how it intends to assess the level under Section 10 of the Mining Act, 2010 as amended by the written Laws of free carried interest for any given mining project, (Miscellaneous Amendment) Act No. 7 of 2017. The Government is required to and how this works in practice? have not less than 16% non dilutable free carried interest shares in the capital of a mining company conduction Mining, operations under a Mining licence or a

Section Question Response special Mining licence. The Government is further entitled to acquire up to 50% of the Mining company resulting from the total expenditure incurred by the Government in favour of the Mining Company.

• It should be clearly understood that, the minimum non-negotiable shares to be acquired by the Government shall be 16%. Note that, the Government, in this regard, shall acquire up to a total of 50% share. However, the amount of share to be acquired by the Government shall depend on the type of minerals and the level of investment as shall be determined by the total value of the expenditure incurred by the Government in favour of the mining Company. • This is intended to bring a win-win situation in the mining extractive industry. Therefore, investors are encouraged to calculate their returns to the Government while bearing this in their mind. • The Government is underway to issue directives on how the same shall be implemented. Report by the The report states that Tanzania's export ban on gold • On 25th January 2019, the Government of Tanzania issued the guidelines on

Secretariat and copper mineral concentrates has caused Tanzania's mineral value addition. Those guidelines are known as THE MINING (MINERAL WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 (WT/TPR/S/384) – mineral ore exports to decline from 16% to 2%. VALUE ADDITION) GUIDELINES, 2019. These guidelines clarify stage of Annex 4 Tanzania beneficiations for each category of minerals before being exported. According 4 Trade Policies by Question 33 to the guidelines, gold dore, and copperdore are allowed for export. The ban

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Sector Does Tanzania anticipate lifting this export ban in the on export of gold and copper concentrates is to allow for local processing of

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4.2 Mining and Energy future? What plans are in place to develop Tanzania's the gold dore and copper dore stages. Therefore, lifting up of the ban is not

4.2.1 Mining onshore processing capacity for its minerals? anticipated.

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4.2.1.2 Production and • Tanzania is encouraging the development of mineral processing industries. Trade This include, among other, the establishment of smelters and refineries for Page 312, Paragraph metallic minerals. In small scale mining, the Government has constructed 4.76 three demonstrations centres to promote construction of such industries by

small scale miners. Participation of women in the economy in the EAC Tanzania has been at the forefront of creating a Positive Legal Framework and countries Political Context for Gender Equality. Women's important contribution to economic activity in Tanzania is well recognized. In the 2018 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap report Tanzania was ranked number 72 globally, out of 149 countries, in terms of women's economic participation. Both government and civil society articulate the importance of gender equality, and numerous policies and strategies identify the need for continued progress. As part of its commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially MDG 3, relating to promote gender equality and empowerment women.

Tanzania Five Year Development Plan has recognized economic empowerment for women as one of the important factors for rapid social and economic development in the country. In addition, Tanzania has developed National Strategy for Gender Development which spells out various strategies for gender development including women economic empowerment in the country.

Section Question Response 3.1 Measures directly Paragraph3.3 of the Secretariat's report reads as The systems as well as performs the Risk management through the Risk affecting imports follows: "In 2014, the Mainland launched the Tanzania management module function. Through this module functions the following: - 3.1.1 Customs Customs Integrated System (TANCIS). It is a • Selectivity; procedures, valuation, web-based system that was fully implemented at all • Simulation; and requirements customs posts in June 2015. It has progressively • Compliance level for importer and Declarant (Clearing and Forwarding Agent- replaced paper documents with a paperless CFA); and environment, leading to significant cost and time • Statistical data. savings. It also allows customs to perform real-time Selectivity: monitoring, risk management and intelligence 4. Under this criterion, the system selects the goods basing on its criterion operations. However, for goods entering through settings, either red, yellow or green; Zanzibar, importers must use its electronic system, 5. It allows the verification/ inspection at all points of entry/exit; and ASYCUDA++. The TANCIS and ASYCUDA++ allow 6. Basing on this function, the system can route the goods to scanner or physical transferability of information to other EAC partner verification (red). countries. Tanzania's single window system (eSWS) is expected to be finalized by the end of 2018. As of Simulation: August 2018, the TANCIS had incorporated about ten 3. Mainly function is basing on Importer/Exporter History; and

other government institution operations into the 4. Focusing on HS Code classification, Valuation or Rules of origin. WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 system." Compliance: 1. Concerning trade facilitation, it is important that we be3. Basing on Tax Identification Number; and provided with further information on the Tanzania 4. The system gives the statistics in regard to importer/exporter or country of

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Customs Integrated System, in particular as regards origin as per set aside criteria.

148 risk management and real-time monitoring. In this

respect, we are interested to know whether the risk

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management system is a comprehensive system that includes aspects pertaining to control by agencies other than customs and, regarding real-time monitoring, whether this refers to the satellite tracking of shipments

in transit or being imported. Page 275 (Para 3.1.7) Tanzania has certain local content rules that apply to The local content law does not provide restrictions on importation. In contrast, certain sectors of its economy, mainly in the extractive the law requires is local companies to be given preference if they can supply the sectors. The relevant laws and regulations have been goods or services required. If the local companies do not have the capacity to strengthened during the review period to increase local supply, then a foreign company should enter into a joint venture with a local content requirements, require technology transfer, or company. otherwise put conditions on foreign operations, e.g. to use domestic banks, insurers, and service providers. In the case it is impossible to get a local company to enter into a joint venture, According to the authorities, the National Economic the contractor should request for permission to procure from a foreign company Empowerment Council (NEEC) is the coordinator, subject to certain conditions. Read Section 219 of the Petroleum Act of 2015 supervisor, and facilitator, and monitors local content and the Petroleum regulation (local content) Regulations of 2017. implementation measures

Question 1 The Republic of Korea wishes to raise its concerns regarding Tanzania's recently strengthened 'local content rules', the application of which appears to constitute import restrictions. In addition to the

Section Question Response extractive sectors where local content requirements are articulated in laws and regulations, there are several items across various sectors where foreign companies are not allowed to export due to relevant Government orders or tender requirements. Page 335 (Para 4.137) Tourism is a non-Union matter; thus, policies and laws differ for the Mainland and Zanzibar … In January 2018, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism made changes to the licensing structure and associated fees for tour operators, in order to make it less costly for local small companies to operate, while at the same time increasing the fee for large foreign operators. (For foreign tour operators with a fleet size greater than 30 vehicles, the fee was increased from USD 5,000 to USD 7,500 per year and, if over 50 vehicles, it was further increased to USD 10,000. For local operators,

the fee was reduced for small operations with 1-3 WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 vehicles, to USD 500 from USD 2,000; it remains the same for operators with 4-10 vehicles, at USD 2,000 and increases to USD 3,000 for those with 11-50

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vehicles, and to USD 5,000 for those with more than 51

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vehicles. Foreign tour operators with less than 10

vehicles are prohibited)

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Question 2 Could the Tanzanian government explain why it has changed the licensing structure and associated fees for

tour operators, making it less costly for local companies while increasing the fee for foreign operators? In particular, the Republic of Korea would like to know why Tanzania has prohibited small foreign companies with less than 9 fleets to be tour operators. Secretariat Report – It is mentioned in the report that "Tanzania Annex 4 Tanzania implemented the Tanzania Trade Integration Strategy, 2.2 Trade Policy 2009-13, to strengthen trade sector development and Formulation and identify development needs and priorities within the Objectives, pg. 255, Tanzanian trade sector. An export strategy was also para. 2.10 developed in 2009 for the period 2010-14, in order to support export-led growth and to build upon the National Trade Policy. The policy targeted a number of priority sectors, including agriculture, tourism, mining, and forestry and bee-keeping, to increase export competitiveness and boost exports. A separate Export Development Strategy was developed for Zanzibar.

Section Question Response According to the authorities, both strategies continue to guide Tanzania in their respective areas." Could Tanzania kindly provide further information about the above-mentioned strategies? Are there any targets determined for exports and import value under this strategy? Did Tanzania achieve these targets?

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REPLIES BY KENYA

WTO Member Questions Responses UNITED STATES Annex 2 Kenya Answer: The TradeNet System is available to all users who require the single window services for import and export related transactions. Kenya will continue 3 TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE to bring on board more Government Agencies who have a role in international trade. Statistics to track progress are shared with the Port Community Customs stakeholders at scheduled meetings that brings together both private and public sector stakeholders. Follow-up on page 22: The United States appreciates The TradeNet System is also integrated with some private sector systems such Kenya's response to its question on the processes and as insurance companies offering Marine Cargo Insurance and Kenya will planning for its single window, TradeNet system. Kenya continue to integrate with other private sector systems on a need basis. noted that several government agencies made commitments to specific timelines for cooperation under the system with a Memorandum of Cooperation, and KenTrade provides statistics tracking progress.

Please clarify if Kenya's plan is to include additional stakeholders when the TradeNet System is available to the WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 public, or alternatively provide a timeline when Kenya will make it publicly available.

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Follow-up on page 23: The United States appreciates Tanzania as a SADC Member State is implementing the SADC FTA by charging Kenya's response to its question regarding Kenya's zero rate on products originating from SADC countries. However, Tanzania has commitments under the COMESA FTA. Kenya noted that requested for derogation on sugar and some tariff lines under Headings 48.04 Tanzania does not provide preferential tariff rates for and 48.05 and charges a rate of 25%. products from COMESA members, and that Kenya and Other EAC Partner States do not provide preferential tariff rates for products other EAC partner states do not provide preferential tariff from SADC where Tanzania is a member. rates for products from SADC where Tanzania is a member.

Please clarify whether Tanzania applies different rates of duty on products originating from SADC countries than the other EAC partner states apply on those same products originating from SADC countries. Please clarify how the EAC applies EAC rules of origin to Goods originating from Tanzania to Kenya, must be accompanied by a certificate prevent the re-export of products imported to Tanzania of origin, certifying that they have been produced in Tanzania. Goods not originating from SADC countries. produced in Tanzania, in this case, imported from SADC, do not have this certificate, and therefore attract CET rates. Procedure to prevent re-export of non-originating products: i) The Competent Authority in Tanzania registers the exporters and the products which has been confirmed to meet the requirement of the EAC Rules of Origin;

WTO Member Questions Responses ii) Re – exportation of EAC originating goods is only allowed when goods remain under customs control and do not undergo any operations; iii) Customs in the receiving Partner State will verify to ascertain whether the goods are among those listed to be manufactured by the registered exporter; and in case of doubt the receiving Partner State may request for further information on how origin was met, and if not satisfied will request for joint on- the - spot verification Follow-up on page 16: Please provide information on Kenya is compliant with its budget contributions to the AU Peace Mission the following: Initiatives through normal budget. No Trade measures are used. Please confirm whether or not each EAC member is applying a levy or using trade measures to contribute to the African Union peacekeeping initiative. If so, please provide details about these levies and/or trade measures. Trade Remedies

Follow-up on page 24: The United States noted that the WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 Kenya Trade Remedies Act of 2017 was published in the Kenya Gazette in August 2017 but had not yet been notified to the relevant WTO

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committees on antidumping, subsidies and countervailing 152

measures, and safeguards. The United States asked when

Kenya plans to notify this legislation to the relevant WTO

- Committees. Kenya indicated it will notify the WTO when it By July ,2019 establishes its administering authority but did not answer our question concerning the notification of its trade

remedies legislation to the WTO.

When does Kenya plan to notify its trade remedy legislation (i.e., the Kenya Trade Remedies Act of 2017) to the WTO? Intellectual Property Rights

Follow-up on page 26: The decision for issuing a license Under the Copyright Act a CMO can only collect royalties from users if licensed to collect royalties for authors and publishers of musical by the regulator (KECOBO) to do so. As such for the period the decision had works was deferred for 2019. been deferred no royalties ought to have been collected. The Attorney General has not appointed a Board of Directors for KECOBO yet. How are authors and publishers currently collecting royalties for uses of their works? Has a new Board been constituted? Follow-up on page 26: Please provide further information on the following: The decision was deferred to give the applicants time to comply with certain 2. Why was the decision to issue a license for 2019 conditions set by the Regulator (KECOBO). deferred?

WTO Member Questions Responses 3. When will this decision now be made? The decision to license Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) to collect royalties on behalf of authors and publishers of musical works has now been made after MCSK complied with the conditions set by the Regulator (KECOBO). Collection of royalties will be done jointly with the Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK) and Kenya Association of Music Produ8cers (KAMP). 4. What are the considerations that must be undertaken, if • The three CMOs to agree to collect royalties jointly. any, other than the composition of the Board? • MCSK to conduct fresh elections of the Board of Directors. This was complied with. • MCSK to agree to have an independent Chair person. This was complied with. • MCSK to undertake structured reforms with the aim of improving transparency, good governance and accountability. This was complied with. EUROPEAN UNION 3 TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE Customs clearance and customs control in Mombasa is fully automated. EU initial question No 55: While Kenya's Northern Corridor is a major route for cargos in transit, it is also a major route for cargos

entering Kenya as a final destination. Could Kenya WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 elaborate how it plans to further automatize and speed up customs clearance and customs controls in Mombasa? EU follow-up question:

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We refer to the recent letter sent to Kenya regarding 153

containers with products from the EU kept at the port of

Mombasa. Could Kenya clarify how it will take into account - the High Court decision regarding these products? Could Kenya indicate when it will be in a position to release these containers?

Eu Question No. 72: Has there been a decrease in the Since the establishment of insurance Fraud Investigation Unit (IFIU), there has number of fraudulent claims since its establishment in been an oscillation of fraudulent cases reported to the Investigation Unit. 2017? Summary of annual report on cases from 2013 – 2018. Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 No. of 88 58 133 125 168 91 cases

The reason for the increase in number of cases reported is due to the sustained consumer education conducted by IRA. Consumers are well informed on the role of IRA and IFIU, hence the increase in number of cases reported.

WTO Member Questions Responses TURKEY 1.3 Developments in Trade and Investment, pg. 116, Kenya has not undertaken a study which calculates the interaction between the para. 1.18 robust growth in travel and Tourism and the improvement in infrastructure. It is stated in the Secretariat Report that "Kenya is a net However, The Kenya Economic Survey covering the period prepared by the exporter of services, owing to its tourism and air Kenya National Bureau of Statistics gives these estimates. During this period transportation subsectors. The surplus in trade in services Kenya did invest in physical and security infrastructure which was aimed at increased to a peak of KES 251.9 billion in 2013, before enhancing general security in Kenya and improving access to new tourist declining in the following years. However, at 18.5% of attraction sites while maintaining the standards of the existing tourist sites and GDP, the services surplus is relatively high. Travel and facilities. tourism recorded robust growth over the past three years thanks to improvements in infrastructure and security conditions."

Is there any study that calculates the interaction between the robust growth of travel and tourism and the improvements in infrastructure and security conditions? CHINA Page 23, para 3.9 One Stop Border Point (OSBP) " The establishment of one-stop border posts is another key An integrated border system under OSBP model aims to bring together all the

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 step in the operationalization of the customs union. The EAC border agencies for improved efficiencies through streamlined, coordinated and one-stop Border posts Act was enacted in 2016, and harmonized operations. It works out by consolidating border control functions in provides for establishment and implementation of one-stop a shared space for exiting one country and entering another. Major operation is

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border posts at common borders. The objective is to clearance of goods, passengers and motor vehicles across the border in a common improve the efficiency of the movement of goods,persons location. This involves; passenger clearance, baggage clearance, verification 154

and services within the community. About 15 posts have (inward and outward goods) and revenue collection.

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been designated as one-stop border posts. Border controls Major actors include: in these posts continue to be carried out according to Customs – collection of revenue and trade facilitation. national laws. However,officers are encouraged to proceed Immigration – regulates the movement of persons to simultaneous processing of documents, joint inspections National Security Agencies – which are important for border security. and verifications. Although the legislation has not yet Other Partnering Agencies are Bureau of standards, Plant Inspectors, Port Health, entered into force, countries have been operating these Fisheries Poisons Board, bio- safety, Livestock and Common Border Traders border posts based on bilateral agreements that are Associations (CBTA). consistent with the legislation. According to the authorities, ten one-stop border post are functional. The major challenge is inter-connectivity between the respective systems of the partner states."

Question: Please detail how one-stop border posts operate. Page 10, para 1.4 EAC is already a Custom's Union. It means that the EAC Partner States have "The EAC aims at "a prosperous, competitive, secure agreed to establish free trade (or zero duty imposed) on goods and services politically united" region,through the successive amongst themselves and agreed on a common external tariff (CET), whereby establishment of a customs union, a common market, and imports from countries outside the EAC zone are subjected to the same tariff when a monetary union. This vision is operationalized through sold to any EAC Partner State. Goods moving freely within the EAC must comply five-year development strategies. During the review period, with the EAC Rules of Origin and with certain provisions of the Protocol for the the implementation of the 4th AEC Development Startegy Establishment of the East African Community Customs Union. focused on the consolidation of the customs union and the The EAC Common Market is the second Regional Integration milestone of the East

WTO Member Questions Responses establishment of the common market". African Community (EAC), which has been in force since 2010, in line with the provisions of the EAC Treaty. It follows the Customs Union, which became fully- Page 17,, para 2.13 fledged in January 2010.To accelerate economic growth and development, it "in November 2013, EAC members took a step further with means that the EAC Partner States maintain a liberal stance towards the four the signing of the protocol on the establishment of the EAC Freedoms of movement for all the factors of production and two Rights between Monetary Union (MU Protocol), which entered into force in themselves. These Freedoms and Rights include: 2014. The protocol lays out th framework for the Free Movement of Goods harmonization of monetary and fiscal policies, with a view Free Movement of Persons to converging toward a single currency within ten years." Free Movement of Labour/Workers Right of Establishment Question: 1. Please give a brief introduction on the Right of Residence development and progress towards a fully implemented Free Movement of Services customs union, a common market and monetary union. Free Movement of Capital However, EAC is not yet a monetary union. It is expected to be a Monetary Union by 2024. Discussions on the progress towards a Monetary Union are ongoing. Page 18, para 2.20 "EAC countries are engaged in the establishment of a

WT/TPR/M/384/Add.1 tripartite free trade area (FTA) involving members of a common market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the South Africa Development Community (SADC)

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(COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite FTA). The FTA covers 26 Africa countries that account for about 57% of the 155

continent's population and 58% of its GDP. It is part of an

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overarching project aimed at establishing a continental FTA, and ultimately the Africa Economic Community."

Page 20, para 2.30 They are both Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and negotiations are All EAC countries are members of the African Union (AU). carried out in parallel. The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) aims at bringing Negotiations for the African Continent Free Trade Area together EAC-COMESA-SADC. This will eventually contribute to the AfCFTA. EAC (AfCFTA) were launched in June 2015, and a consolidated has been negotiating as a bloc in the TFTA and AfCFTA as well. text (the protocol on Trade in Goods; the protocol on Trade in Services; the protocol on Rules; and the procedures on the Settlement of Disputes) was adoprted in March 2018. The EAC Custom Union Protocol Article 37 provides for FTA negotiations by an As at August 2018, 49 members States had signed the EAC Partner State with Third Parties. AfCFTA, and 6, including Kenya and Rwanda, had ratified The AfCFTA is governed by the principle of preservation of the acquis which guides it." the RECs during negotiations. This was further strengthened by the Decision of Question: 2. How to desribe the relationship between the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Nouakchott, Tripartite FTA and AfCFTA?Are they being negotiated Mauritania in July 2018. The decision urged Member States to abstain from parallelly? entering into bilateral Free Trading Area arrangements until after the entry into force of the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA. Question: 3. If a third country negotiated trade agreement with the EAC or a EAC member, how to deal with the relationship between the new FTA agreement and AfCFTA?Will AfCFTA exert any influence or restraint on this kind of bilateral FTAs?

WTO Member Questions Responses Question: 4. Are the two objectives, i.e. pushing forward The two objectives are not being pushed forward in parallel and simultaneously. the establishment of AfCFTA and aiming at the EAC is already a Custom's Union and has an established Common Market Protocol. establishment of a customs union, a common market and However, EAC is not yet a monetary union but working towards becoming a monetary union in the EAC, being pushed forward parallelly monetary union by 2024. The AfCFTA recognizes EAC as one of its building blocks and simultaneously? and will take into consideration its acquis.

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