Examining the Prospects of the Continental Free Trade Area in Facilitating Free Trade in Africa: A Case Study of Non-Tariff Barriers in the East African Community

Efforts at promoting free trade in the continent, and thus boosting intra-Africa trade are aimed to be achieved through the various regional trading arrangements. In the East African Community, the six member countries (Burundi. Kenya. Rwanda. South Sudan. Tanzania and Uganda) have ratified a set of protocols and treaties and thus committing themselves to progressively eliminate all bathers to trade. However, intra-regional trade remains significantly low as a result of persistent trade bathers, particularly non-tariff bathers — the focus of this thesis. While on the one hand tariffs have been lowered as per the provisions of the agreements, on the other, findings of this research suggest that Member States have continued to impose a wide range of measures to restrict access to their markets. These measures, more than tariffs, have become the main obstacles to trade in the region, as well the continent further impeding the prospects of free trade. The findings of this research further suggest that there is a tendency by Member States of the EAC to violate their obligations and as such, these behaviours and actions have undermined efforts to reduce or eliminate bathers to trade, that would see the prospects of free trade realised and intra-Africa trade boosted. Currently, intra-African trade accounts for only about 16.6 per cent, compared with nearly 68.1 in Europe. The AfCFTA is designed to help boost intra-Africa trade through the removal of the current existing bathers to trade. Bearing in mind that AfCFTA considers the RECs as the building blocks of a continental single market, and through which free trade will be pursued, this thesis examines the factors undermining the implementation of free trade in the East African Community. The thesis sought to particularly understand the challenges of eliminating non-tariff bathers in the EAC and further assessed their implications looking ahead to the implementation of the AfCFTA.