US to Sign Treaty to Stimulate Trade in East Africa

{{The US will sign a regional investment treaty with the East Africa Community as a tool to spur trade among member states, and also with America, President Barack Obama announced. }}

“We’ll negotiate a regional investment treaty with EAC. We’ll launch a new programme to facilitate trade,” Mr Obama said during an address to some 170 business leaders in Dar es Salaam.

The US leader used the business forum to highlight his administration’s new policy on engagement with Africa, focusing more on private investments and partnerships as opposed to heavy reliance on federal aid.

The new treaty, he said, will focus on moving goods across borders faster and more cheaply. “We’ll work with the countries involved to modernise customs, move to a single efficient border crossing, reduce bottlenecks, cut the roadblocks that hold back the flow of goods to market,” Mr Obama said.

Business stakeholders have identified the same obstacles as impediments to regional integration under the EAC Common Market Protocol. Mr Obama hinted as much following a closed door meeting with 20 top executives of companies working in the region and Africa.

The suggested treaty will be a pillar of Obama’s “Trade Africa”, a plan he revealed at the same meeting. Its immediate goal is to raise EAC exports to the US by 40 per cent and cut container transit time in the region by 15 -30%.

NMG