Business Reporter
THE number of member states participating in the COMESA Free Trade Area (FTA) has risen to 16 following the passage of the required law by the Democratic Republic of Congo to join the regional economic community. In a notice on its website the regional economic bloc, COMESA, said two other countries were expected to enlist any time soon.

Describing the development as positive, the director of trade at the COMESA secretariat, Francis Mangeni, said this will boost the levels of investment and intra-regional trade for the 19 member bloc.

“The parliament in the DR Congo has passed a law, which allows it to join the FTA. This is brilliant news because DRC has a very large economy with rich mineral resources, market and population size that will now be included in the lager COMESA market,” he said.

The accession to the FTA will be done through a three year phase down approach starting in 2016 with a 40 percent reduction on duty followed by a 30 percent reduction in 2017 and another 30 percent in 2018.

This will eventually bring the charges to zero percent, which is a requirement for a country to fully participate in the FTA.

The COMESA FTA was launched in October 2000 to provide duty free and quota free market access to member states on COMESA originating products.

The regional grouping has established a set or criteria known as the Rules of Origin to ensure that goods that have undergone some processing or are wholly produced within the region get preferential tariff treatment when crossing the border.

The 16 participating countries are Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The FTA is major component of the regional economic dream that seeks to enhance industrialisation efforts by creating a common market for member states. Experts view regional integration as a strategic initiative that will liberate Africa economically.

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