USAID, TradeMark sign deal to support EAC integration

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) have signed an agreement, affirming their partnership and setting common goals of increasing trade within East Africa.The MoU which was signed in Nairobi on Thursday also aims at promoting exports to current and new markets, including America as well supporting the East African Community’s (EAC) excellent progress on regional trade integration. “Specifically, USAID and TMEA agreed to work to increase intra-regional trade by 25 percent and exports to the rest of the world by 10 percent by 2016,” the two firms said in a joint statement issued in Nairobi on Friday. Much of this progress is expected to be accomplished by reducing transit time and trade costs by 15 percent, while supporting the EAC in moving towards a more fully functional Customs Union and Common Market.The EAC, the regional economic community representing East Africa, is comprised of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. East Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, though trade continues to be hampered by tariff as well as non- tariff barriers, including over-stretched ports and time consuming customs and border operations. USAID/East Africa partners with governments, civil society and the private sector throughout East Africa to accelerate sustainable development to improve the lives of East Africans.