Proposed excise stamp rate hikes bad for Kenya’s manufacturing agenda (Business Daily)

The proposed Excise Duty (Excise Goods Management System) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 seek to increase the fees of excise stamps for bottled water, juices and any other non-alcoholic drinks, cosmetics, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and nicotine products and export products subject to excise with effect from March 1.

From the onset, the position of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) is that using excise stamps as a tool for fighting illicit trade is counterproductive.

From the baseline survey conducted by Anti-Counterfeit Authority in 2020, illicit trade rose from Sh726 billion in 2017 to Sh826 billion in 2018, despite the existence of excise duty measures.

Ghana: SMEs without certification could lose out on ACFTA benefits – Trade Ministry warns (Myjoyonline)

The Ministry of Trade and Industry is warning of the possibility of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) without Ghana Standards Authority’s certification losing out on the African Continental Free Trade Area deals.

A Ghana Standards Authority survey reveals fifty (50) percent of local manufacturers delay with certification renewal timelines while others fail to renew.

Director of Bilateral, Multilateral and Regional Integration at the Ministry of Trade, Mickson Opoku, meanwhile cautions defaulting businesses might not be able to compete favourably in the trade area.

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Nigeria, Niger sign border frequency agreement (Radio Nigeria)

Nigeria and the Republic of Niger have signed a bilateral agreement for the coordination of frequency utilisation to ensure seamless deployment of services along their borders.

The agreement signing ceremony was one of the highlights of the two-day Digital Economy Regional Conference, hosted by the Nigerian government and facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

Excerpts from the agreement indicates that, it will help in the effective coordination and sharing of frequencies and channels in the ‘buffer zone area’.

Egypt-Romania trade exchange reaches $1.1bln in 2022 (ZAWYA)

Trade exchange between Egypt and Romania has reached $1.1 billion in 2022, according to a cabinet statement published on February 4th. These remarks were made during a press conference by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and his Romanian counterpart.

The discussions focused on ways to reinforce bilateral economic relations as joint cooperation would increase the volume of trade between the two countries.

Nigeria, Bulgaria record 1,010 percent increase in trade volumes in 2022 — Ambassador (ZAWYA)

The Bulgarian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Yanko Yordanov at the weekend disclosed that a 1,010 percent increase in the trade volumes between Nigeria and Bulgaria for the year 2022.

He said this in Lagos, while addressing newsmen in a-day symposium organised by the United States Government Exchange Association Alumni in Nigeria, where he highlighted his achievements as as an ambassador and the efforts that are being made to foster the Bulgarian-Nigerian relationship.

He said: “Since I got here, we have doubled the trade volumes between Nigeria and Bulgaria. If you compare the statistics of 2022 to 2021, you’ll see a 1,010 per cent increase in the trade volumes, which I think it’s a significant thing and one of the outcomes of the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria’s visit to Bulgaria last year.”

Etihad Cargo, Astral Aviation sign MoU to boost Africa-UAE logistics (Engineering News)

The cargo and logistics division of Etihad Airways, Etihad Cargo, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Astral Aviation to expand the partnership between the two parties and enhance the cooperation between the regions of Abu Dhabi and Nairobi, further growing Etihad Cargo’s reach into the African market.

This latest agreement builds on Astral Aviation’s expanding partnership with Abu Dhabi, which will see Astral Aviation operating more flights to the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) capital, supported by Etihad Cargo.

Through the comprehensive MoU, Etihad Cargo’s customers will benefit from additional cargo capacity out of Nairobi through the introduction of additional services from Nairobi to Etihad Cargo’s hub in Abu Dhabi from April 1.

African Development Bank, Production Partner on New Podcast Presented by the World Trade Center in Washington, DC (African Business)

Africa-USA Now,  a new weekly video podcast spotlights current events at the intersection of Africa and the United States. The 10-week series launches at a pivotal time following the historic US-Africa Summit and the renewed commitment to partnership between Africa and the US. 

The current events talk show features African and American policymakers and experts examining issues around burgeoning trade and investment opportunities. The program is presented by the World Trade Center, Washington, DC (WTCDC), and is launched in partnership with the African Development Bank, Africa Investment Forum and AfricaGlobal Schaffer.

“This is an important program that will address roadblocks to engagement, highlight significant trade and investment opportunities, and hopefully change the narrative on Africa and the dynamic changes taking place on the continent,” said Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, which is sponsoring the program.

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EU-India: new Trade and Technology Council to lead on digital transformation, green technologies and trade (European Commission)

Today, the EU and India have strengthened their relationship as strategic partners by setting up a new Trade and Technology Council (TTC). The new TTC will deepen strategic engagement on trade and technology between both partners. This follows the announcement by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, on 25 April 2022 in New Delhi. It will be co-chaired on the EU side by Executive Vice-Presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis, and on the Indian side by Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.

In a rapidly changing geopolitical environment, the EU and India have a common interest in ensuring security, prosperity and sustainable development based on shared values. The TTC will provide the political steer and the necessary structure to coordinate approaches and advance technical work. To lay the groundwork, both sides have agreed to work on critical areas such as connectivity, green technologies and resilient supply chains.

China-Africa economic, trade digitalization service base established in Hunan (Xinhua)

The China-Africa economic and trade digitalization service base of Hunan Province was unveiled in Changsha, the provincial capital, on Monday.

The base mainly serves Chinese companies in Africa and provides related digital information services. It will also promote the innovative application of new business forms such as cross-border e-commerce, China-Africa economic and trade data statistical analysis, and other digital products related to telecommunications, Internet, software and information technology services.

The base can provide campsite communication support equipment services for enterprises in need and build cross-border interconnection routes for African branches of Chinese-funded enterprises. Furthermore, it can also provide services such as website construction in local languages to help high-quality economic and trade development between China and Africa.

U.S.-China trade likely set record in 2022 (Politico)

Commerce Department data to be released Tuesday is expected to show goods trade between the world’s two biggest economic superpowers surpassed the previous record of $658 billion set in 2018.

The tally for the first 11 months of 2022 was $640 billion, putting the record well within reach when the December numbers are added in tomorrow. U.S. exports to China could exceed the 2021 record of $151 billion, while U.S. imports from China could match or exceed the 2018 record of $538 billion.

Still, there are signs that the political turbulence of the last few years is having an impact on two-way commerce. Based on data for January through November, China accounted for just 13.1 percent of overall U.S. trade in 2022, the lowest level in at least a decade and down from a peak of 16.4 percent in 2017.

Free IOE&IT webinar on impact of Ukraine war on global trade to take place next week (Institute of Export & International Trade)

To mark the unfortunate milestone of one year having passed since the invasion began, the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) is hosting a free webinar at 2pm on 14 February, assessing the impacts of the war on trade and advising businesses on how to navigate the uncertain new trade landscape.

The webinar will feature trade policy and sanctions specialists from the IOE&IT and government, as well as Professor Trevor Williams, a former chief economist at Lloyds Bank, a visiting professor at the University of Derby and co-founder of FXGuard.

You can sign up to the webinar for free here.

EU trade policy latest: green industrial plan, South America negotiations and migration push (Institute of Export & International Trade)

There’s more to EU trade policy than current wrangling over the Northern Ireland Protocol and Brexit.

Since the start of 2023, the trade bloc has launched a range of trade initiatives covering issues such as the environment, digital services and migration.

Here, the IOE&IT Daily Update rounds up the latest developments from the European trade policy world, including the green industrial plan, Asian agreements and progress on EU-South American trade talks.