TradeMark East Africa

Published purpose

This project aims to contribute to sustainable economic growth by reducing trade costs in East Africa. The project seeks to reduce trade costs by speeding up and modernizing border and customs management systems within the East African Community (EAC). The project provides expertise, training and funding to help the EAC member states and the EAC Secretariat speed up, integrate, streamline, and improve the gender sensitivity of their border management systems. The project also works to streamline customs clearance and revenue-sharing procedures within and between countries. Some project activities include: (1) equipping and setting up 14 one-stop border posts (whereby traders only need to stop at one border stop that is jointly managed by both border countries, using a single set of shared procedures) to help streamline joint customs clearance procedures; (2) using information technology and web-based procedures to fight corruption by reducing interaction between border officials and traders and by ensuring transparency in how customs duties are determined; and (3) supporting the EAC Customs Directorate to negotiate and establish a legal framework to share customs revenue regionally, allowing customs revenue to be collected at the first port of entry and transferred to the ultimate destination country.