DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The East African Community (EAC) on Thursday launched a two-day high-level dialogue in Kigali, Rwanda, to tackle persistent trade barriers and enhance regional integration, the bloc said in a statement.
The meeting, organized by the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, convened officials from the eight member states to identify trade bottlenecks and propose measures to accelerate the Customs Union and Common Market.
The statement noted that intra-EAC trade has stagnated at around 15 percent of total trade for over a decade, well below its potential of 30 to 50 percent. Participants emphasized shifting focus from policy formulation to enforcement, as most constraints are now operational rather than legal.
Non-tariff barriers, including discriminatory taxes and inconsistent rules of origin, remain major impediments, officials said.
EAC Secretary General Veronica Nduva said that while intra-regional trade rose from 6.42 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 to 15.25 billion dollars in 2024, it still accounts for only about one-eighth of the bloc's total exports. ■