Common market for Eastern and Southern Africa
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa ( English Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa , COMESA ; French Marché commun de l'Afrique orientale et australe ; Portuguese Mercado Comum da África Oriental e Austral ) is a regional organization based in Zambia Lusaka . The aim is to create a common market for the countries of Eastern and Southern Africa . It was formally founded in 1994 as the successor organization to the Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA), which has existed since 1981 .
task
The main task is in the trade area with the aim of creating a free trade area , which was started on October 31, 2000 by nine member states and now has 21 members. In 2009 a customs union was brought into being by COMESA. It was planned to complete this by 2012, but even after the transition period was postponed a second time to 2014, the customs union was not yet functional.
Problems
There were multiple delays in the planned tariff reductions and also skepticism about how COMESA should proceed. However, COMESA succeeds in advancing its goals, although problems arise again and again due to the diversity of the members and the geographical distances. Another problem is the overlap with other organizations with similar goals. Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Swaziland also belong to the South African development community . Tanzania has also left COMESA to avoid this overlap. South Africa was not interested in membership because of other treaties.
Current Member States
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Egypt (since January 6, 1999) -
Ethiopia (since December 21, 1981) -
Burundi (since December 21, 1981) -
Djibouti (since December 21, 1981) -
Eritrea (since 1994) -
Kenya (since December 21, 1981) -
Comoros (since December 21, 1981) -
Democratic Republic of the Congo (since December 21, 1981) -
Libya (since June 2005) -
Madagascar (since December 21, 1981) -
Malawi (since December 21, 1981) -
Mauritius (since December 21, 1981) -
Rwanda (since December 21, 1981) -
Zambia (since December 21, 1981) -
Seychelles (since 2001) -
Zimbabwe (since December 21, 1981) -
Somalia (since July 19, 2018) -
Sudan (since December 21, 1981) -
Swaziland (since December 21, 1981) -
Tunisia (since July 18, 2018) -
Uganda (since December 21, 1981)
Former Member States
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Lesotho (until 1997) -
Mozambique (until 1997) -
Tanzania (until 2000) -
Namibia (until 2004) -
Angola (until 2007)
COMESA RCTG CARNET
RCTG is a regional customs transit guarantee system, part of the COMESA protocol on transit trade and transit facilitation.
Participants in the RCTG agreement are 13 COMESA members and non-member countries.
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Ethiopia (COMESA member)
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Burundi (COMESA member)
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Democratic Republic of the Congo (COMESA member)
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Djibouti (COMESA member)
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Kenya (COMESA member)
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Madagascar (COMESA member)
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Malawi (COMESA member)
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Rwanda (COMESA member)
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Sudan (COMESA member)
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South Sudan has been a participant in the COMESA Regional Third Party Motor Insurance (Yellow Card) Scheme and the COMESA Regional Customs Transit Guarantee (RCTG) Scheme since April / May 2016. -
Zimbabwe (COMESA member)
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Tanzania
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Uganda (COMESA member)
Web links
- Official website
- Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa, COMESA. International Labor Office, Geneva History of COMESA
- Padamja Khandelwal: COMESA and SADC: Prospects and Challenges for Regional Trade Integration. IMF Working Paper, 2004 (PDF; 1.38 MB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.uneca.org/oria/pages/comesa-trade-and-market-integration
- ↑ http://rctg-mis.comesa.int/
- ↑ http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/05/07/south-sudan-moves-closer-to-joining-comesa-bloc-as-it-signs-transit_c1345674
- ↑ http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ctl/ArticleView/mid/519/articleId/19216/South-Sudan-Joins-COMESA-Regional-Customs-Transit-Guarantee-Scheme.aspx