Topics publications: Trade Facilitation and Customs
Trade Briefs
Africa and the adoption of HS2022: Implementation update, impact and consequences in the context of AfCFTA
The new edition of the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System 2022 (HS2022) entered into force on the 1st of January 2022. This development means that Customs tariffs, associated Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) management systems – such as the Automated Systems for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) – as well as accompanying Harmonised System (HS) tools and instruments must have been successfully migrated from the previous edition (HS2017) to the new version (HS2022).
A few weeks prior to entry into force of HS2022, African countries’ experiences in this regard still indicated widely ranging inconsistencies and discrepancies in the application of the HS in general. Whilst all the Contracting Parties were expected to have fully migrated to the HS2017 by then, apparently some had not yet done so. The majority of those were still either using HS2012 or even HS2007, whilst some had huge delays in rolling out HS2017. Only 30 African countries had successfully migrated to HS2017 and were already applying it. At the launch of the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) during the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on the AfCFTA in Niamey, Niger held on the 7th of July 2019, HS2017 was already in its third year. At that time, half of the African Union Member States were still to ratify the AfCFTA.
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Trade Briefs
Customs cooperation in facilitating intra-African trade
The Evolving Role of Customs Administrations – from Goalkeeper to Trade Facilitator
Customs administrations play a pivotal role in the advancement of international trade. The efficiency and effectiveness of customs procedures can significantly influence the economic competitiveness of nations. Customs’ roles and responsibilities have evolved over time and now their main responsibility is to facilitate legitimate trade by allowing it to pass through borders as quickly and smoothly as possible while implementing border management and enforcing controls.
The transition from the traditional objective of revenue collection and enforcement of mainly protective controls to the modern trade facilitation agenda and trade policy reform requires a paradigm shift. Customs administrations around the world constantly encounter challenges to enhance their processes in order to make them more robust and transparent, thereby striking a balance between facilitating trade and the enforcement of effective border controls.
Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of tralac.
Trade Briefs
Trade facilitation in Africa: Solutions and recommendations
Low intra-Africa and regional trade have historically been attributed to tariffs. However, recent evidence shows that non-tariff issues are the main reason for low intra-Africa and regional trade. Intra-Africa trade could significantly increase if governments prioritised addressing trade facilitation challenges and implement trade facilitation measures espoused in the Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) or elsewhere (e.g. national, regional and multilateral instruments). Addressing trade facilitation challenges requires several actions by governments and customs and border agencies. Actions ranging from effective implementation of existing legal frameworks, amendment of existing legislation and regulation to improving the efficiency of procedural or operational issues at the border posts and ports.
Trade facilitation challenges have been examined elsewhere and there is general agreement that they are the major obstacles to intra-Africa and regional trade. This Trade Brief provides recommendations to governments for implementing measures that will facilitate transparency, increase compliance and simplification of cross-border trade procedures and reduce time and costs of doing business across borders. Recently, African governments have adopted an array of temporary measures to facilitate trade in essential food and health supplies during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This Trade Brief commends such measures and provides practical recommendations that can support governments’ efforts to expedite trade during the pandemic and beyond. In certain instances, the present Trade Brief recommends the extension of the temporary measures to facilitate the trade of essential food and medical products adopted during the pandemic. We recommend their integration into existing or new legal frameworks for trade facilitation.
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