Businesses in East Africa will have to wait longer to reap the fruits of free trade, thanks to non-tariff barriers.

According to a report by the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat, rather than doing away with non-tariff barriers (NTBs) by December 2012 in accordance with the EAC plans, some countries have even introduced fresh ones – about 10 – while 35 remain unresolved. Only 36 have been resolved.

The Secretariat also found that differences over elimination of the barriers had deepened, denying the region larger markets, economies of scale, and promotion of local, regional, and global trade — the benefits envisaged with free trade among the nations.

This means businesses will have to continue incurring huge costs arising from the NTBs – mainly weighbridges, roadblocks, poor infrastructure, unnecessary delays at border posts, and lack of harmonised import and export standards, procedures and documentation.

The sad state of affairs is blamed on the absence of a legally binding framework that has left businesses at the mercy of individual countries. A draft law meant to punish countries that fail to implement agreed upon mechanisms to eliminate trade barriers was submitted to the regional parliament in November 2012.

EAC secretary-general Dr Richard Sezibera says a legal framework has been developed and is awaiting comments from member states.