Trade Barriers In Africa Case Study

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QUESTION 2

Trade barriers are prohibitions or conditions implemented by government to restrict free trade between a country with other international countries when it comes to the importation or exportation of goods. Trade barriers result from laws and regulations in a country. Examples of trade barriers could be quotas, tariffs, import bans, quality conditions, import and export licences, subsidies, just to mention a few.

An example of a trade barrier which countries could face is that of the implementation of protective tariffs, which includes border and port congestion, technical standards, customs inspection, just to mention a few.

The main trade barrier to regional trade in Africa is that of a poor transport network. According to a study done by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) it was discovered that the highest transport costs are in African countries. High transport costs are due to poorly maintained roads and infrastructure and the fact that not all countries have harbours, makes transport …show more content…

As they tried to this, new barriers were brought in such as products having to meet certain quality standards. This is what we call a technical barrier and is one of the most important in Africa. It sets out the requirements of how goods should be produced, processed, packaged and transported. It is a good thing as it gives the consumer value for their money and it also protects the consumer from food hazards with this barrier in place. It is also aimed at the protection of plant health. Certain African countries, such as South Africa, requires that goods be imported from other African countries are disease free, if they go through a thorough inspection process to see that they do not exceed the limits set for insecticides and pesticides as these could be harmful to humans and

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