Executive Summary
The study aims to examine the effects of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) on trade; the case of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). In the regional agreements, the earliest concern was a reduction of tariff. However, the NTBs become a major threat for trade more than tariff these days (Olayiwola, 2020). There were a total of 612 cases of NTBs reported in 2018. Furthermore, the trade data shows in 2019, intra-export in COMESA stood at 10%. The study used a gravity model and a fixed effect method and considered 19 member states of COMESA. The panel data were collected for a period of 2015 to 2020 by taking a new methodology introduced by World Bank that consider the cost and time required for document compliance and border compliance for export and import. The study result shows that cost and time required for document compliance has statistically significant effect on trade flow of export and import negatively. Finally, it is recommended the implementation of One Stop Border Post and using advanced technology highly foster trade.
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