The UN Economic Commission for Africa will hold a three-day Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE) conference from November 20-22, in Kigali, to help reach a regional consensus on how to move forward with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area in Eastern Africa (AfCFTA).

Sunday Times’James Karuhanga this week interviewed Andrew Mold, Officer-in-Charge of the Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa (SRO-EA) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), to shed some light on the primary objective of the three-day meeting.

Below are excerpts:

What is the 22nd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts all about? Who are these experts and what do they do?

This is our annual conference, but in fact we are simply hosts of the meeting – we are the facilitators. This year the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has kindly agreed to co-host.

Our Intergovernmental Committee of Experts Group Meeting is, as its name suggests, a regional meeting for regional experts and policymakers. The level of participation is high – we have Ministerial presence, Permanent Secretaries, government economists, as well as representatives from regional think-tanks and academics.

When and where was the 21st ICE meeting held?

Last year’s meeting attracted over 250 participants and was held in Moroni, Comoros. This year, there is a definite buzz about the theme of the conference, on Implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area, and are expecting an even larger turnout.

Implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area in Eastern Africa will be the key focus of the upcoming meeting. What is the current status of implementation in the region?

The primary objective of this meeting is to build a consensus around the ratification and implementation of the AfCFTA. So far, as you are aware only two countries have ratified – Rwanda and Kenya …though it looks like Uganda will shortly be added to that list. We have reasons to hope the meeting will lead to other countries fast-tracking their own ratification processes.

How exactly do you hope to help reach a regional consensus on how to move forward with implementing the AfCFTA?

It’s important that policymakers from the different countries share their different perspectives on the way forward.

That is the way to iron out any concerns and understand where all potential benefits lie. At ECA, we will provide a lot of background information on the AfCFTA; our organisation has been supporting the agreement ever since the initial discussions on the matter back in 2015.

It is important that the general public is well informed. For instance, a lot of people are not aware that the leading trading partner for most countries in our region is already the African continent!

Uganda, for instance, over 50 percent of exports are destined to the rest of Africa. So Africa is already the key market for Uganda. The same is true for most countries in our region.

What is your take on matters: politics, trade wars and disputes in the region? How do these elements impact on this deal’s implementation?

On November 14, in Arusha, I gave a presentation to the Permanent Secretaries of Trade from EAC member states on a report our office has done for the EAC Secretariat on the reasons for the slowing down of intra-regional trade. It was a very lively session!

There is certainly a general concern about the prevalence of non-tariff barriers and trade disputes within the EAC. I did point however that such conflicts are common in any process of regional integration.

In the European Union, there were endless disputes between French and Spanish farmers, for instance, with produce regularly being destroyed at the frontier. Similar tensions existed within NAFTA between Mexico and the United States.

Be that as it may, it is crucial that governments do their best to allay fears and reduce the tensions – ultimately, we all benefit through greater intra-regional trade, particularly in the agricultural sector.

Last year, for instance, in the face of very serious drought conditions, Kenya significantly increased its imports of food from Uganda and Tanzania. This kind of trade is clearly mutually beneficial.

What exactly do East African countries need to do more to tap into the dynamism of regional markets?

Countries in East Africa have understandably become wary of what I would call ‘naïve’ unilateral liberalisation of their trade regimes. It simply hasn’t produced the promised results. But we have to approach intra-African trade liberalisation with a different frame of mind.

There is still enormous scope for greater intra-African trade, as long as the barriers are reduced or, in the best of cases, eliminated altogether.

Did you know, for instance, that whereas average applied tariffs on exports to the European Union are zero, if a Rwandan or Kenyan exporter wishes to export to Ethiopia, those tariffs average 27 percent on processed foods, or 23 percent on textiles?

We are shooting ourselves in the foot while those kinds of impediments are in place.

Your office’s simulation work suggests that East Africa exports to Africa would increase by 31 percent if tariffs are eliminated on intra-African trade, and provide a welfare boost of US$ 1.4 billion USD. Where is the hope, as you read the situation presently that the continental trade deal will eventually and, sooner than later, be implemented?

The AU Summit held in Kigali last year was a great success. I don’t think anyone anticipated at the outset that as many as 44 countries would sign up to the AfCFTA.

And we are now at 49 signatories. That represents a remarkable degree of consensus for a continent of 55 countries!

The timeframe for actual implementation of course may be longer than some of us would hope; for the EU took seven years to implement its Single Market Programme back in the late 1980s, for instance.

Current circumstances both within the continent and outside means we do not have the luxury of that length of time.

My own feeling is that we need to really empower the Regional Economic Communities like the East African Community, so that they are in the driving seat in terms of getting the AfCFTA actually implemented. With all hands on deck, we can get there!

editorial@newtimes.co.rw