Tanzania Non-Tariff Measures Workshop

Tanzania National Stakeholder Meeting on Non-Tariff Measures

10 March 2021, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania

Agenda

Wednesday 10 March 2021

08:30 Registration

09:00 Opening ceremony

Session 1 - Background and Overview

09:30 EAC Markup project in Tanzania

09:45 Results of NTM Business Survey in Tanzania

Session 2: Panel discussion

11:15 Regulatory reforms and public sector perspective

12:15 Lunch

Session 3: Thematic round tables – forward looking solutions

13:30 Round table 1 : ‘Enhancing export competitiveness of the agricultural sector by improving compliances with technical requirements, quality standards and conformity assessment.

15:15 Round table 2: ‘Market Access beings at home: Simplifying domestic regulations and streamlining procedures to enhance Tanzania’s trade competitiveness ’

16:45 Wrap up and concluding remarks

17:00 End of the workshop

For more information: ntm@intracen.org

Overview

As part of the Tanzania Partner States Window of MARKUP, ITC implemented a business surveys on non-tariff measures (NTMs). The survey aimed to identify the key regulatory and procedural obstacles to trade Tanzanian exporters and importers face.

Between 2019 and 2020, ITC has interviewed close to 650 Tanzanian companies, with a special focus on key priority products: tea, coffee, avocado, horticulture and spices.

The survey also interviewed around 50 exporters as a follow up to the first ITC survey in Tanzania in 2013/14. The purpose was to understand the changes in company’s perception and if the difficulties reported in 2013/14 have been resolved.

Overall, the surveys capture burdensome NTMs imposed by partner countries as well as bottlenecks in the home country, for example related to exporter capabilities and technical facilities to meet regulations and demonstrate compliance with NTMs, or challenging administrative processes associated with exporting and importing (procedural obstacles).

The business surveys gather evidence from the ground about unnecessary trade cost that NTMs imply. Stakeholder consultations that accompany the survey process allow identifying how to reduce such trade cost without undermining legitimate objectives that trade regulations serve.

The process thereby informs the design and implementation of Tanzania’s trade strategy, and contributes to bringing tangible changes to the business environment and facilitating untapping existing trade potentials.

As part of the survey, ITC has also interviewed 21 public sector agencies and 35 private sector association on issues related to non-tariff measures and business environment in Tanzania.

Day 2 of the event will focus on capacity building around the issue of NTMs and Market Access, Branding and Packaging for exports, and Quality Management. The National Quality Association of Tanzania will be also launched.

Stakeholder meeting

The purpose of the national stakeholder meeting in Tanzania is to:

Present the results of the NTM survey: perspectives of the private sector perspective
Engage with the public sector and get their perspective
Initiate discussions with the private and public sector to draft policy recommendation and the way forward.

Key stakeholders to be invited include the ministries of trade, health and agriculture; customs; certification bodies; private sector representatives (including sector associations); trade support institutions; academia, independent experts; donors and international organizations.

Following the stakeholder meeting ITC will continue bilateral discussion with stakeholders (if required) and finalize the country report for Tanzania taking into account discussions from the meeting.

Market Access Upgrade Programme

ITC is implementing the Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP), a regional initiative aiming at improving market access to European Union (EU) and the East African region for five East Africa Community (EAC) partner countries - Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda - agro-industrial crop and horticultural sectors. The EU 11th European Development Fund funds MARKUP from 2018 to 2022. Under the EAC window of MARKUP, the interventions of ITC entail the implementation of activities to improve product quality compliance, value addition, access to finance and business promotion as well as business advocacy to facilitate trade in the EAC region.