UTILISATION OF BILATERAL AND REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS IN ENHANCING TRADE AND INVESTMENT Presentation to Stakeholders by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Enterprise Development 31 May 2018

WHY TRADE AND INVESTMENT IMPORTANT FOR ZIMBABWE? Increased investments and exports for Zimbabwe will propel economic growth and development through job creation and increased foreign exchange earnings. This ultimately leads to improvement in the standards of living for the general populace.   Trade and Investment Promotion activities are therefore of prime importance for Zimbabwe as a strategy to aid economic growth and development. Trade Agreements have been entered into by Zimbabwe to promote the country’s exports into trading partners markets.

Zimbabwe is signatory to the following Trade Agreements OVERVIEW OF TRADE AGREEMENTS Zimbabwe is signatory to the following Trade Agreements Bilateral Preferential Trade Agreements Zimbabwe-Botswana Trade Agreement Zimbabwe-Namibia Trade Agreement Zimbabwe-Malawi Trade Agreement Zimbabwe-Mozambique Trade Agreement Zimbabwe-South Africa 1964 Trade Agreement (being terminated in 2018 at the proposal of South Africa in favour of SADC Protocol on Trade) The following are some of the goods that may qualify for export under preferential treatment i.e. duty-free and quota-free: Wholly grown products, for instance agricultural products Animals originating in Zimbabwe Minerals products Manufactured products meeting set out qualifying criteria, among other goods

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Free Trade Area REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS Zimbabwe has duty-free and quota-free market access into the following Regional Economic Communities (RECs); Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Free Trade Area Southern African Development Community (SADC) Free Trade Area Tripartite Free Trade Area (COMESA-SADC & East African Community-EAC) African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – Agreement signed on 21 March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU – Ratified by Zimbabwe in 2012

Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) OVERVIEW OF TRADE AGREEMENTS cont’d Multilateral Trade Agreements of the World Trade Organisation Trade among WTO Member Countries is on a Most Favoured Nation and National Treatment Principle (non-discrimination among trading parties). Include the latest Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) which is aimed at facilitating movement of goods across borders Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) allows duty-free and quota-free export to a number of developed and some developing countries GSP Certificates of Origin are obtainable at ZimTrade Zimbabwe is not party to the US African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) trade preferences to access the US market due to sanctions.

BENEFITS OF TRADE AGREEEMENTS Formalize Zimbabwe’s trading relationships with various trading partners. Provide specific parameters that govern and facilitate such trade through a conducive framework. Enable producers to exploit existing trade opportunities and provide a certain level of confidence for producers to trade Exported products become competitive when they are exported duty-free at lower cost, resulting in increased exports . Some Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade (NTBs) are eliminated through Trade Agreements

Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) into the EU TRADE AGREEEMENTS AND ATTRACTING INVESTMENTS FDI can be attracted into Zimbabwe due to diverse duty-free market access opportunities provided by the trade agreements Zimbabwe in party to. Investors from the rest of the world would be attracted to invest in Zimbabwe because of the ready market provided by the; Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) into the EU Market access opportunities for Zimbabwe into COMESA, SADC because of the central geographical location.

Make use of the various Trade Agreements GOVERNMENT EXPECTATIONS FROM INDUSTRY Make use of the various Trade Agreements Trade Agreements’ usefulness can only be proven if producers make use of them Challenge is to be more aggressive – It is one thing to have the agreements in place and another thing to utilize them. Expand exports/initiate exports in markets of trading partners Play critical role as Government’s cooperating partners to realize the nation’s vision to intensify the generation of foreign currency through exports.

On this platform, one gets instant access to information on: ZIMBABWE TRADE INFORMATION PORTAL Trade information on Zimbabwe is readily available on the official Zimbabwe Trade Information Portal at: www.tradezimbabwe.com   This is a one-stop platform for doing business in Zimbabwe which is administered through ZimTrade. On this platform, one gets instant access to information on: How to export to and import from Zimbabwe. Policies, Regulations and Trade Agreements Trade/Export Directory with contacts of Zimbabwe companies Trade Events Online Chat Assistance

Zimbabwe Trade Information Portal ZIMBABWE TRADE AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION Zimbabwe Trade Information Portal www.tradezimbabwe.com

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY, COMMERCE AND ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT THANK YOU