The current eac regional integration initiative has its origin in the mediation agreement for division of assets and liabilities of the east african community which collapsed in 1977. East african community ministry of external affairs. Article 4 conflict prevention, management and resolution 1. East african community the east african community eac is the regional intergovernmental organisation of the republics of kenya, uganda, the united republic of tanzania, republic of rwanda and republic of burundi with its headquarters in arusha, tanzania. Eac from the custom union to the common market pre pared by. In the area of the eurasian economic union a common customs tariff, unified trade rules and harmonized technical standards apply. Certification in customs union and euroasian conformity. Such main features of the eac customs union are embodied in the customs union. Correspondingly, according to figure 2 the revenue performance measured by the tax to gdp ratio shows that for the period 1994 to 2012, revenue increased however, despite the increase in revenue performance, the eac. East african community for the purpose of discussing these issues.
The realization of the noble objectives of the common market will require an effective and full fledged customs union. The protocol defines important terms in trade namely. General interpretation rules for the classification of goods. Its achievement and implementation in tanzania cyril chimilila, charles sabuni, amos benjamin. Treaty for the establishment of the east african community, as amended 2008 pdf, 539 kb. Protocol on peace and security east african community. The image and labeling rules of the eac sign are approved by schedule 2 to resolution no.
By the decision of the eurasian economic commission eurasec no 293 dated 25. East african community common market protocol reform update. These reforms have involved the 1 reduction of tariff and nontariff barriers across eac countries. East african community eac close afrika mashariki road p. Update on the eac customs union eac headquarters, arusha, 16 january 2005. Additionally, an analysis of the volume of imports to the eac countries shows that during the period 1994 to 2012 imports have dramatically increased from from 2002 to. Eac certificate of conformity to technical regulations of the. Protocol means the protocol on the establishment of the east african community. This study addresses trade facilitation in the east african community customs union eac cu by tracking the achievements and implementation using tanzania as a case. Protocol on the establishment of the east african customs union. A simplified version of the protocol on the establishment of the east african. The protocol establishing the eac customs union was concluded in 2004 and implementation commenced in january 2005. Paul kagame, the president of rwanda, is the eacs chairman. Article 242a of the protocol on the establishment of east african community.
The first, predominant difference compared to the gost r certifications is the validity extended to the three member. The republics of rwanda and burundi joined the customs union in 2008 and started applying its instruments in july 2009. It is a partial form of economic integration that offers an intermediate step between freetrade zones which allow mutual free trade. The eac customs union is being overseen by a customs and trade directorate at the secretariat, but its implementation is being done by the respective revenue authorities. Customs union certificateeac custom union certification. The eac customs union protocol the main thrust of the custom union is the final realisation of a viable integrated east african common market, which will stimulate production, investments and trade both intra, regional andi t ti ld international. In its judgment in british american tobacco u limited v the attorney general of uganda reference no. Eac customs union protocol protocol on the establishment of the east african. The influence of east african community customs union on. The general list of products in relation whereto mandatory requirements are set forth within the customs union framework is specified in the unified list approved by resolution of the customs union commission no. The eurasian customs union eacu is a customs union which consists of all the member states of the eurasian economic union the customs union is a principal task of the eurasian economic community, established in 2000, and now succeeded by the eurasian economic union.
The creation of the eac customs union is the first stage in the fourstep eac regional integration process. The eac customs union protocol provides for a number of parts as follows. The implementation of the customs union was envisaged to be progressive and so far a number of milestones have been achieved towards the attainment of the goal of a fullyfledged customs union. Certificate of the customs union is an official document which shows the product complies with the standards and requirements of customs union customs union certificate eac, i. Negotiation of the east african customs union protocol the east african community arose from the desire of britain, which was the colonial master, in charge of uganda and kenya and later tanganyika to establish effective control over the region. The east african customs union was successfully launched in 2005, followed by the establishment of the common market in 2010 and implementation of the east african monetary union protocol in 2012. The customs union implies the elimination of internal tariff free movement of goods. From may to july he was based at the kas office in tanzania while he researched the east african community. Eac protocols and annexes wpfilebase taglist id10 tpltable num9.
The thesis analyses commitment to the eac customs union protocol. The east african community eac is an intergovernmental organisation composed of six countries in the african great lakes region in eastern africa. Armenia and kyrgyzstan adopting some of the customs union technical regulations from the end of 2015. The eac customs union is being overseen by a customs and trade directorate at the secretariat, but its implementation is being done by the respective revenue authorities through a decentralised structure. Simplified version of eac customs union protocol a. Yet, this opportunity receives little attention among business researchers.
The eac started a fullyfledged customs union in january, 2010 and implementation of the common market in july, 2010 while the east african monetary union protocol eamu was signed in november 20 and is under implementation. Its achievement and implementation in tanzania cyril chimilila, charles sabuni, amos benjamin institute of. Articles 1 1 and 15 1 a and 2 of the eac customs union protocol and article 6 1 of the eac common market protocol. The eac declaration of conformity for the customs union eac is one of two new eac certifications documents introduced with the reform of technical regulations tr cu in russia, belarus and kazakhstan. The eurasian conformity mark eac is official proof that the products conform to all technical regulations of the eurasian economic union tr cu and tr eaeu assessment procedures. The customs union between kenya and uganda in 1917, which tanganyika joined in 1927, was followed by the east african high commission eahc from 1948 to 1961, the east african common services organization eacso from 1961 to 1967, and the 1967 to 1977 eac. Moritz boltz is studying politics, economics and law at ludwig maximilian university in munich. November 2009 and ratification in july 2010 of the common market protocol by all the partner states. Benefits of eac customs union east african community.
The customs union protocol was concluded and signed by the presidents of the eac partner states on 2nd march 2004 and t. A customs union is essentially a joint administration. Effective from february 2012 by council decision of eurasian economic commission. The customs union is the first regional integration milestone and critical foundation of the east african community eac, which has been in force since 2005, as defined in article 75 of the treaty for. East african community common market protocol reform. Eac disposed of the immediate step of first establishing a free trade area. By purporting to construe the cited domestic tax laws to the exclusion of the applicable eac treaty and customs union protocol, the ura acted in a manner that is likely to jeopardize the treatys objectives, thus rolling back the gains of the customs and common market that have been realized thus far. Trade openness and tax revenue performance in east african. Trade openness and disaggregated import demand in east.
It did not seem economically viable for britain to have the three east african countries under separate. In line with this undertaking, the eac customs union protocol was signed on 2nd march 2005, ratified in december 2004 and came into force on 1st january 2005. The protocol however bound them to initiate reforms to open the capital account by 2015. Commitment to the east african community customs union. Based on data from fifty semistructured interviews plus secondary sources, the analysis reveals. East african court of justice rules goods brought into. Screen shot 20170620 at 160547 eac customs union protocol. And whereas in order to promote the achievement of the objectives of the. The establishment of the east african communityeac presents an emerging market of more than 100 million people. A while ago you asked me about how the import tax is applied in all five partner states of the eac customs union. The customs union is the first regional integration milestone and critical foundation of the east african community eac, which has been in force since 2005, as defined in article 75 of the treaty for the establishment of the east african community.
The protocol establishing the eac cu was signed in december 2004 and its implementation of commenced on 1st january 2005. The impact of tariff reductions under the eac customs. South sudan confirmed as member of the east africa community. The customs union is a form of trade and economic integration between the parties that envisages a common customs territory in the framework of which goods exchanged in mutual trade that originated from the common customs territory and also those originating from third countries and freely circulating on this customs territory are exempt from customs duties and economic restrictions. The treaty for establishment of the east african community was signed on 30. Common market protocol east african court of justice. Customs union the east african community customs union protocol was signed on 2 nd march 2004, ratified end december 2004 and came into force on 1st january 2005.
Kenya, tanzania, and uganda have cooperated with each other since the early 20th century. Burundi, kenya, rwanda, south sudan, tanzania, and uganda. A protocol on the east african community customs union was. South sudan confirmed as member of the east africa. Eac certificate of conformity to technical regulations of. Objectives of the eac customs union east african community. Kenyatta avenue, teleposta towers, 16th floor phone.
The influence of east african community customs union on the. In its judgment, the court stated that it has jurisdiction to interpret disputes arising out of the customs union and common market protocols, read a statement from the east african. East african community customs union implications and benefits of the eac customs union what is a customs union in the theory of economic integration, a customs union is supposed to be the third stage of integration after a preferential trade area and a free trade area. Eac peace and security protocol eac customs union protocol eac common market protocol eac monetary union protocol. The establishment of the east african community eac presents an emerging market of more than 100 million people. View test prep simplified version of eac customs union protocol from legal 124 at university college utrecht. Customs union means the east african community customs union. The director of customs in the eac directorate of customs and trade, mr. Annex vi of the protocol established the timelines below for specific reform measures affected by the capital account and other related laws and regulations. Certificate of the customs union is an official document which shows the product complies with the standards and requirements of customs unioncustoms union certificateeac, i. Thus, formation of the eac customs union is a necessary step.
Eaccu study 2008 october draft01 tanzania chamber of. East african community the east african community eac is the regional intergovernmental organisation. The organisation was founded in 1967, collapsed in 1977, and was revived on 7 july 2000. The actual negotiations on the establishment of the common market started in april 2008 and ended in november 2009 when the east african community eac heads of states signed the protocol on the establishment of the eac common market. Protocol on the establishment of the east african customs union protocol on the establishment of the east african community common market protocol on the establishment of the east african monetary union. Noting that the partner states concluded the protocol establishing the. These reforms have involved the reduction of tariff and nontariff barriers across eac countries. Trade and revenue impacts of the planned east african community customs union. Rule 2 purpose of the rules of origin the purpose of these rules is to implement the provisions of article 14 of the protocol.
Eac customs union protocol eac common market protocol eac monetary union protocol. The eac customs union protocol was singed on 2nd march 2004 and came into force on the 1st january 2005. In contrast to previous studies, this research compares state preferences at the negotiation stage with their adherence to each provision in the protocol during the transposition, enforcement and application stages of the protocol. Customs union, a trade agreement by which a group of countries charges a common set of tariffs to the rest of the world while granting free trade among themselves. And whereas the republic of burundi and the republic of rwanda acceded to the accession treaty on the 1st day of july 2007. The study uses descriptive research design and data for the study were mainly secondary data. The eac certification bodies, according with the technical regulations of the customs union tr cu, assess the conformity of given products to the relevant regulations tr cu.
Stefan reith is resident representative of the konradadenauer. Protocol and its annexures, common customs law and regulations and. Kenneth bagamuhunda has issued the following information on the operations of the east african community customs union. Products originating in third countries, that cover approximately 99 % of all tariff lines, will be subject to a common external tariff cet. Interpretation article 1 provides definitions of various terms used in the protocol. East african court of justice rules goods brought into uganda. A simplified guide to understand customs union protocol. The consultations on the monetary union, which commenced in.
Customs union secretariat means the secretariat of the community. Customs union to provide for establishment of the trade. For purposes of paragraph 1, partner states shall manage and seek to. In that agreement, signed on 14 may 1984, there was a provision that the 3 east african countries kenya, tanzania and uganda. However, the treaty for the establishment of the east african community provides that a customs union shall be the first. Thus, only five years after the new eac was established, the customs union protocol took effect. The misconstruction of the term import that has been. Eac legal texts and policy documents tralac trade law centre. Trade openness and tax revenue performance in east. The east african community customs union rules of origin rules, 2015 rule 1 citation these rules may be cited as the east african community customs union rules of origin rules, 2015.
Scope of cooperation in the eac common market the provisions of the protocol shall apply to any activity undertaken in cooperation by the partner states to achieve the free movement of goods, persons, labour, services and capital and to ensure the enjoyment of the rights of establishment and residence of their nationals within the community. The declaration is required to permit the turnover of goods within the eeu customs union products subject to mandatory declaration. A simplified guide to understand customs union protocol the common external tariff cet john. Eac protocols and annexes law reform commission of tanzania.
Eac customs union protocol state department for trade. The latter being the eac certificate for the custom union eurasec. Specifically we were talking about importing a shirt from nigeria and what the import tax imposed in rwanda, uganda, tanzania, kenya and. Eac customs union the union was established via the signing of a protocol by the then three east african heads of state of kenya, uganda and tanzania on 2 march 2004. The partner states undertake to develop an east african community conflict prevention, management and resolution mechanism. Eac common market protocol liberalisation timetable. The impact of tariff reductions under the eac customs union. Protocol on the establishment of the east african customs. East african community customs union considering that the objective of. The quality assessment, followed by the awarding of the necessary eac certification, allows access to the markets of the 5 members of eac certification system. East african community common market protocol reform update december 2016. This item appears in the following collections protocols 16. The eac customs union protocol aims to liberalise inter and intra regional trade.
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