Impact of WTO Non Agriculture Market Access Negotiations on East African Countries Trade in Manufactured Goods

Kenya - 30 November 2012

This concept paper has discussed the World Trade Organisation ( WTO) – on going Doha round negotiations on Non Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) and flanked out the areas that need to be researched on, with an ultimate objectives of informing the EAC regional integration process, particularly EAC countries trade in manufactures. Information gained from the research which would be undertaken in the identified areas will help in the positioning of the EAC Countries to take advantage of the opportunities arising from the WTO Doha round NAMA negotiations, when the round is completed. Information from the identified areas of research will also assist EAC member countries in identifying areas of policy intervention and action to increase trade in industrial goods.
 
The paper recommends that in order to inform the EAC region to position itself to gain from the on-going NAMA outcomes, there are several issues which need investigation. These include: Analysis of market access gains from NAMA negotiations outcomes for EAC countries and the prospects for the regions industrial products exports diversification; Implications of the preference erosion as a result of MFN tariff reduction by other developing and developed countries; Implications of industrial tariff binding by Kenya on the EAC countries CET and policy space with respect to future CET reviews; Analysis of the WTO NAMA outcomes and the EAC-EU Economic Partnership nexus; The EAC industrial goods exports competitiveness, and, Non-tariff barriers.

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