It is now more than eight years since Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania agreed to establish a Common External Tariff pursuant to the Protocol for the Establishment of the East African Community Customs Union. Burundi and Rwanda joined the Customs Union in 2008. The Common External Tariff was to have a minimum rate of 0%, a middle rate of 10% and a maximum rate of 25%. All tariffs on goods transported between the countries were to be phased out within five years.
Those five years have come and gone, and the deadline for phasing out internal tariffs and phasing in the Common External Tariff has now been extended to 2015. Officially, differences between the countries in rules of origin and lack of funding for negotiations are hindering the progress of implementation. Unofficially, tariffs provide an important source of revenue for governments and a lucrative source of extra income for those who administer them.
However, the delays in implementation are slowing economic development in the East African countries. Whereas trade between African countries should be a significant contributor to GDP in those countries, most legal inter-country trade is stifled by high tariffs and protectionist policies which favour a small number of people at the expense of the countries as a whole.