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PS: Address non-tax barriers to promote AfCFTA

THE Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Dr Hashil Abdallah has said the removal of non-tax and trade barriers will speed up implementation AfCFTA

TANZANIA: THE Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Dr Hashil Abdallah has said the removal of non-tax and trade barriers will speed up implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by increasing exports and promoting business in the country.

Dr Abdallah said this recently during the 17th AfCFTA Permanent Secretary meeting held in Zanzibar where Tanzania is the Chairman of the meetings at all levels for the year 2024. Dr Abdallah also said it will improve trade balance, access of the foreign market of Tanzanian products.

“The implementation of the AfCFTA in the country will contribute to encouraging the growth of industries and improving the business environment which will produce positive results by increasing employment, increasing the GDP and providing better social services to Tanzanians and finally achieving the goals of the National Vision 2025 and Agenda 2063 of the Africa we want,” said Dr Abdallah.

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Meanwhile, Dr Abdallah called on the Tanzanian Business Associations to seize the opportunities of the AfCFTA market with more than 1.3 billion people by producing products with the required quality and standards that can compete in the market in order to effectively implement the mission of President Samia Suluhu Hassan for opening the country economically.

“We need to run more than our colleagues, so it is our responsibility now as Tanzanians to take advantage of the opportunities available in the AfCFTA and then we will be implementing in practice the mission of our President in her efforts to open the country economically, commercially and for investment,” Dr Abdallah said.

On her part, the Permanent Secretary General of the Ministry of Trade and Industrial Development – Zanzibar, Ms Fatma Mabrouk Khamis called on all citizens, especially women and youth of Tanzania Mainland and Islands to grab the opportunities to sell quality local products according to the needs of the market which includes 54 African countries.

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The opportunities include increasing employment since AfCFTA offers the opportunity to sell goods or services within the African continent without any tax restrictions to any member country.

Ms Khamis said that due to the opportunities of AfCFTA, the products made in Zanzibar are sold in Uganda, Congo and other African countries where the companies have been trained to understand the needs of the market and ensure that their products reach the required standards.

“This AfCFTA agreement forces us African countries to improve the business environment, remove non-tariff barriers, build infrastructure and improve the laws in order to expand the scope of the market, attract business people and investors in various sectors such as industry, agriculture, livestock and breeding, which increases employment, GDP and promotes the economy of our citizens and the nation as a whole” Ms Khamis said.

A total of 11 Tanzanian companies have been able to sell their products in various African countries through the AfCFTA using the AfCFTA Certificate of Origin, where a total of 24 certificates were issued to the companies.

The products from Tanzania which sold in bulk through the certificates of origin are 426.4 tonnes of hemp fibres to Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco and Egypt while 273.3 tonnes of coffee were sold to Algeria and 21.1 tonnes of tobacco were sold in Nigeria where three companies are led by women.