1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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:
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

10. Zimbabwe Trade Information Portal
ZIMBABWE TRADE AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION
Zimbabwe Trade Information Portal

11. MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY, COMMERCE AND ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT
THANK YOU