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COMESA

Common Market for East and Southern Africa

Tunisia ready to participate in the COMESA free trade regime
12-May-2021 COMESA
Tunisia is ready to fully participate in the COMESA Free Trade Area regime (FTA) one year after giving notification of participation in the trade regime in March, 2020.
MPs want CS Maina summoned over ’secret’ sugar importation deal
7-May-2021 The Star
MPs drawn from the sugar belt region now want Parliament to summon Trade CS Betty Maina over what they term a ’secret’ sugar importation deal with Uganda. They said the importation will kill the local industry.
How can Mauritius take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)?
7-May-2021 Africa Newsroom
AfCFTA provides a platform for Mauritius to contribute significantly to the new African impetus by making available to investors and businessmen an ecosystem that not only makes it easier for them to do business with Africa, but also enhances and safeguards their investments.
Regional Economic Communities and the AfCFTA investment protocol
22-Apr-2021 Tralac
The legal regimes of the eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) recognised by the AfCFTA Agreement as building blocks of the African Continental Free Trade Area will not disappear when the AfCFTA is implemented.
SADC urges Member States to sign and ratify AfCFTA and TFTA
5-Apr-2021 SADC
The Council of Ministers of the Southern African Development Community has urged Member States that have not yet signed and ratified the AfCFTA and the TFTA to do so to allow for the implementation of the agreements.
Private sector firms join push for AfCFTA agenda
24-Feb-2021 The East African
Private sector lobbies in Africa’s six regional trading blocs have formed the African Business Council, a continental umbrella body to spearhead the business agenda for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
New deadline set for ratification of Tripartite Free Trade Area
24-Feb-2021 COMESA
Ministers from the tripartite group of regional economic communities in eastern and southern Africa have set June 2021 as the deadline to achieve the threshold of 14 ratifications required to enable the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) enter into force.
Zambia ratifies tripartite free trade area agreement
22-Jan-2021 News Ghana
Zambia has become the latest country to ratify the Tripartite Free Trade Area, bringing the number of countries that have ratified the agreement and deposited the instruments to nine. The agreement, being pursued by COMESA, the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), needs a total of 14 countries to enter into force.
Taiwanese eye Africa as investment destination amid marginalization
14-Dec-2020 Focus Taiwan
Taiwan’s Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association encouraged Taiwanese companies to take advantage of free trade deals in Africa.
COMESA Business Council Makes 21 Recommendations On Seed Trade
4-Aug-2020 EABW News
The COMESA Business Council recently convened a webinar on “Unlocking Food Security Through Improved Seed Trade in COMESA” aimed at discussing issues of access to quality and affordable seed and challenges in trade facilitation in the movement of seed across borders amidst COVID-19.
Kenya reluctant to seek Comesa shield, opts for rehabilitation of sugar factories
23-Jul-2020 East African
Kenya is reluctant to seek extension of safeguards that protect the country from importation of cheap sugar from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa).
COMESA Resolves 95% Of NTBs At Borders
21-Jul-2020 EABW News
At least 82% of the reported Non-Tariff Barriers in the COMESA region are those imposed on imports and exports of goods and services and are largely operational by design. According to trade experts, these type of NTBs are easy to identify and monitor.
Investor-state dispute settlement in Africa and the AfCFTA Investment Protocol
8-Jul-2020 Tralac
With the growing concern over the traditional ISDS system, it is highly unlikely that the AfCFTA will include an ISDS mechanism giving investors access to go to international arbitration under conventional international tribunals.
Sadc takes over Tripartite economic group leadership
24-Apr-2020 Chronicle
Under market integration, 22 countries out of 28 have now signed the TFTA Agreement, while eight have signed and ratified.
Implementation of the Tripartite FTA agreement now in sight
26-Feb-2020 COMESA
Namibia is the latest to ratify the TFTA agreement. Seven countries are expected to complete the ratification process before the end of this year paving the way for its implementation.
More countries ratify tripartite free trade area agreement
20-Jan-2020 Eagle
Namibia has become the eighth country to ratify the Tripartite Free Trade Area. Six more countries are required for the agreement to enter into force.
Cabinet approves ratification of Comesa-EAC-Sadc free trade
11-Dec-2019 ZBC
Cabinet in Zimbabwe has approved the ratification of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA).
East African countries turn to neighbours for more trade
21-Nov-2019 The East African
EAC’s increased exports to SADC excluding Tanzania was as a result of the increased benefits arising from the membership to the EAC-COMESA-SADC Tripartite.
Africa’s tripartite free trade area to be operational in early 2020: COMESA
4-Sep-2019 Xinhua
The TFTA will also be a building bloc for the African Continental Free Trade Area, COMESA official said.
Rwanda ratifies Tripartite Free Trade Area agreement
11-Jul-2019 The New Times
Members of the Lower House approved the agreement establishing a Tripartite Free Trade Area among the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community, and the Southern African Development Community.