Zimbabwe welcomes import controls
On Friday 24 June, Zimbabwe's Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced stringent regulations mea…On Friday 24 June, Zimbabwe's Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced stringent regulations meant to control the importation of goods available locally. The move has been welcomed by manufactures, who say it should be complemented by the removal of duty on raw materials to boost local production.
The regulations, gazetted under SI 64 of 2016 become effective on July 1. Under the new rules, those who want to import listed goods have to apply for a permit which costs $30 and is valid for three months. Before acquiring the permits, those applying have to justify the need to import the particular goods.
Confederation for Zimbabwe Industries president Busisa Moyo said
“We believe the import restrictions should be complemented by removing duty on all raw materials for production, removing requirements for export permit requirements for non-essentials to increase Nostro balances; this includes bananas and coffee.”
Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa said restrictions on imports were meant to reduce the import bill and to support local industries.
“We did not say we are banning the importation of products. we are aware of the Sadc protocol and we respect that. everything that we are doing is in line with Sadc protocol. It’s just that we are going to be using the licensing system,” he said.
Zimbabwe is a member of the World Trade Organisation, ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement, regional trade arrangements (Sadc, Comesa), and signed bilateral trade agreements with neighbouring countries, that is the Trade Agreement Group, which includes Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia and South Africa.
These arrangements provide frameworks for further liberalisation of trade, and Zimbabwe has made commitments within each of these arrangements towards that objective.