A quantative assesment of COMESA customs union

AUTHOR

Nzuma, Jonathan Makau; Sika, Gbegbelegbe; Massawe, Stella; Karugia, Joseph T.

SERIES NAME

ReSAKSS Working Paper

YEAR

2009

ABSTRACT

The member countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) had agreed to launch a customs union by December 2008 under which a common external tariff (CET) would have been imposed on all goods and services imported from outside COMESA. Even though the creation of the COMESA customs union was not achieved, it could have been a decisive step towards bolstering economic growth and alleviating poverty in the region. Not withstanding the failure to create a COMESA customs union, the welfare impacts of customs union are ambiguous. In addition, the welfare impacts of the customs union on the individual COMESA member countries are not well understood. It is therefore important to undertake studies that generate information on the welfare impacts of the imposition of a CET within the COMESA region.

PUBLISHER

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)