The majority of barriers to trade in services are embedded in regulations. Poorly conceived and implemented rules and regulations impact negatively on the ability of service providers to efficiently supply their markets. The corollary of this inefficiency is the additional cost imposed on users of services and final consumers of the products.
In the road freight transport sector, for example, a few transport rules limit the ability of transport operators to pick up cargo in the destination country which is intended for delivery to countries other than the vehicle’s point of origin. Hence if a vehicle from Namibia delivers cargo to Zambia, that vehicle cannot then pick up a load in Zambia for transportation to Tanzania unless his route passes through Namibia. Such practices have resulted in a high number of trucks returning to their point of origin empty. Naturally, this represents an additional cost to transport operators which is passed on the operators’ clients and ultimately the final consumers. Approaches to reducing or eliminating regulatory barriers include unilateral regulatory reform, sector- based regulatory cooperation with neighboring countries or countries with a shared interest in creating more effective regulatory frameworks and engaging in services negotiations where trade partners make commitments to lower or eliminate regulations which impede trade. SATH has embarked on a number of initiatives which embrace these approaches; working with stakeholders to reduce or remove regulatory barriers in the context of the Trans Kalahari and Dar Corridors. SATH’s Trade in Services program is assisting Malawi and Tanzania in preparing their requests to other Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) member states for the removal of barriers in conjunction with Trade in Services. The most recent SATH initiative to assist in creating a more business friendly environment is implementation of pilot regulatory impact assessments (RIAs). This type of support is an essential element of unilateral regulatory reform. A RIA is a quantitative tool that aids decision-makers in improving their regulatory frameworks by:- Clearly identifying the problems to be addressed;
- Presenting the range of policy options to address identified constraints;
- Analyzing these options to understand the impact of the different available policies on various stakeholder groups; and
- Recommending the best available option on the basis of the analysis.
