The Challenge of Non-Tariff Barriers

Non-tariff barriers, including regulatory procedures, corruption, and technical standards, significantly constrain African trade. While reforms like the One-Stop Border Framework at the Beitbridge border post and East African Community initiatives have drastically reduced processing times, overall progress in eliminating these barriers remains slow due to entrenched local practices and vested interests.

• Non-tariff barriers act as a significant constraint on trade both within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world. These barriers encompass a wide range of issues, including corruption, inefficiency, expensive visa requirements, onerous regulatory procedures, import prohibitions, quotas, export subsidies, export restrictions, and technical barriers such as food safety and animal and plant health standards.
• Targeted border reforms have led to substantial reductions in clearance times. At the Beitbridge border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe, the implementation of a One-Stop Border Framework (adopted in 2018 and launched in 2021) reduced average processing times for compliant trucks from 35 hours to under two hours. Similarly, reforms by the East African Community (EAC) reduced border crossing times from several days to approximately three to six hours.
• Despite some successes, the elimination of non-tariff barriers is slow because they often represent local practices or vested interests that support the livelihoods of communities over several generations. The COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area website identifies 25 examples of such barriers, ranging from product classification to import bans.
• African countries generally rank poorly in global business environments, with only nine African nations appearing in the top 100 of the World Bank's 2020 Ease of Doing Business Index.

APA

Chipanda, B., & Cilliers, J. (2026). The Challenge of Non-Tariff Barriers. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=05-challenge-non-tariff-barriers

Chicago

Chipanda, Blessing, and Jakkie Cilliers. The Challenge of Non-Tariff Barriers. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=05-challenge-non-tariff-barriers.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chipanda |first1=Blessing |last2=Cilliers |first2=Jakkie |title=The Challenge of Non-Tariff Barriers |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=29 March 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=05-challenge-non-tariff-barriers |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chipanda2026challenge, author = {Chipanda, Blessing and Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{The Challenge of Non-Tariff Barriers}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=05-challenge-non-tariff-barriers}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }