Non-tariff measures affecting agricultural trade in SADC

Abstract

The establishment of the World Trade Organisation in 1995 and subsequent proliferation of the regional and bilateral trade agreements resulted in the decline of global tariffs. However, other trade and regulatory measures have increased and thus restricted potential trade to some extend. These measures, non-tariff measures (NTMs) have also affected intra-SADC trade as there was no evidence of growth in the trade that needed to accompany the decline in tariffs. The extent of the impact of NTMs on SADC trade is still not fully understood due lack of such data, which effectively affected the quality of research in this area. In this paper data on NTM related to SADC agricultural products for ten countries were compiled to shed some light on these measures as well as to make them transparent. The results confirm that these countries have increased their use of NTMs of the period. As a result, on average one product is subjected to 17 NTMs in 2010. SACU is the leader in the use of NTMs, while Malawi had the least incidences of NTMs. Most of The NTMs are applied on fruits, meat, dairy, vegetables and cereal products. The use of sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures (SPS) and export measures were increasing faster than other categories. Finally, there is an indication that NTMs are used as substitutes for the declining tariffs. NTMs are trade restricting, and if they are not addressed they will continue to reverse the gains of SADC free trade area as well as other initiatives of trade liberalisation.