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RESTRICTED WT/TPR/S/384 13 February 2019 (19-0843) Page RESTRICTED WT/TPR/S/384 13 February 2019 (19-0843) Page: 1/417 Trade Policy Review Body TRADE POLICY REVIEW REPORT BY THE SECRETARIAT EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY (EAC) This report, prepared for the third joint Trade Policy Review of the East African Community (EAC), has been drawn up by the WTO Secretariat on its own responsibility. The Secretariat has, as required by the Agreement establishing the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization), sought clarification from the EAC members on its trade policies and practices. Any technical questions arising from this report may be addressed to Mr. Jacques Degbelo (tel: 022 739 5583), Ms. Denby Probst (tel: 022 739 5847), Mr. Michael Kolie (tel: 022 739 5931), Mr. Rosen Marinov (tel: 022 739 6391), Mr. Xinyi Li (tel: 022 739 5579), Mr. Nelnan Koumtingue (tel: 022 739 6252) and Ms. Mena Hassan (tel: 022 739 6522). Document WT/TPR/G/384 contains the policy statements submitted by Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Note: This report is subject to restricted circulation and press embargo until the end of the first session of the meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body on the East African Community (EAC). This report was drafted in English. WT/TPR/S/384 • East African Community (EAC) - 2 - CONTENTS SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 5 1 ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT .......................................................................................... 9 1.1 Main Features of the Community ................................................................................... 9 1.2 Recent Economic Developments ...................................................................................10 1.3 Developments in Trade and Investment ........................................................................11 1.3.1 Trends and patterns in merchandise and services trade ................................................11 1.3.2 Trends and patterns in foreign direct investment (FDI) .................................................13 2 TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES........................................................................... 15 2.1 General Framework ....................................................................................................15 2.2 The EAC in practice .....................................................................................................16 2.3 Participation in the WTO ..............................................................................................17 2.4 Trade Agreements and Arrangements ...........................................................................18 2.4.1 The COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Forum ...................................................................18 2.4.2 Relations with the European Union .............................................................................19 2.4.3 Relations with the United States ................................................................................19 2.4.4 Other agreements and arrangements .........................................................................20 2.5 Investment Regime ....................................................................................................20 3 TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE ........................................................ 22 3.1 Measures Directly Affecting Imports ..............................................................................22 3.1.1 Customs procedures and documentation .....................................................................22 3.1.2 Customs valuation ...................................................................................................23 3.1.3 Rules of origin .........................................................................................................24 3.1.4 Tariffs ....................................................................................................................24 3.1.4.1 The applied MFN tariff ...........................................................................................25 3.1.4.2 WTO tariff bindings ...............................................................................................29 3.1.4.3 Tariff exemptions and reductions ............................................................................30 3.1.4.4 Tariff preferences ..................................................................................................32 3.1.4.5 Other duties and charges .......................................................................................32 3.1.5 Internal taxes..........................................................................................................32 3.1.6 Import prohibitions, restrictions, and licensing ............................................................33 3.1.7 Contingency measures .............................................................................................33 3.2 Measures Directly Affecting Exports ..............................................................................33 3.2.1 Documentation ........................................................................................................33 3.2.2 Taxation .................................................................................................................34 3.2.3 Export prohibitions, restrictions, and licensing .............................................................34 3.2.4 Export assistance .....................................................................................................34 3.3 Measures Affecting Production and Trade .......................................................................34 3.3.1 Incentives ...............................................................................................................34 3.3.2 Standards and other technical requirements ...............................................................35 WT/TPR/S/384 • East African Community (EAC) - 3 - 3.3.3 Sanitary and phytosanitary measures .........................................................................36 3.3.4 Competition policy and price controls .........................................................................36 3.3.5 Intellectual property rights ........................................................................................37 4 TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR ..................................................................................... 39 4.1 Agriculture .................................................................................................................39 4.1.1 Overview ................................................................................................................39 4.1.2 Agricultural policy ....................................................................................................39 4.1.3 Livestock ................................................................................................................40 4.1.4 Fisheries .................................................................................................................40 4.2 Mining and Energy ......................................................................................................41 4.2.1 Mining ....................................................................................................................41 4.2.2 Energy ...................................................................................................................41 4.3 Manufacturing ............................................................................................................42 4.4 Services ....................................................................................................................43 4.4.1 Transport ................................................................................................................43 4.4.1.1 Road and rail transport ..........................................................................................43 4.4.1.2 Water transport ....................................................................................................43 4.4.1.3 Air transport .........................................................................................................44 4.4.2 Tourism ..................................................................................................................44 4.4.3 Professional services ................................................................................................45 5 APPENDIX TABLES .................................................................................................... 46 CHARTS Chart 3.1 Distribution of CET applied tariffs, 2011 and 2018 ....................................................27 Chart 3.2 Tariff escalation by manufacturing sector (ISIC 2-digit level), 2018 ............................29 TABLES Table 1.1 Selected indicators, 2011-17 .................................................................................. 9 Table 1.2 Extra-EAC trade by major trading partners, 2011-17 ................................................12 Table 1.3 EAC trade in services, 2011-17 ..............................................................................13 Table 1.4 Total FDI inflows and intra-EAC FDI, 2011-17 ..........................................................14 Table 2.1 The legal framework of the EAC .............................................................................16
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