Loss of revenue from the relaxation of tariffs on goods imported into Namibia from SADC countries and the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) will be negligible, at least two business representatives have told Windhoek journalist Edgar Brandt.
He writes that in 2017, “Namibia’s imports from within Sacu accounted for 90.4% of all African imports while imports from non-Sacu SADC member states (a larger combination of countries) accounted for an additional 7.7% of all of Namibia’s imports from Africa”.
Reflecting on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Klaus Schade, a local economist who noted that most Sacu and SADC goods were duty free, told Brandt: “A number of agricultural products are regarded as sensitive and are excluded from the tariff reductions.
“That will be the same in the AfCFTA. Hence, 98.1% of Namibia’s imports from Africa will not be affected by the agreement. Therefore, the impact on custom duties collected by Namibia would be negligible.”
Schade added that the same applied to South Africa. Because most African goods imported from the continent originate in Sacu in SADC and are duty free, loss of revenue from tariffs is worth the short-term impact considering the long-term benefits of AfCTFA.
Ndiitah Nghipondoka-Robiati, CEO of the Namibia Trade Forum, also said that in the greater scheme of things, it was worth pursuing the benefits of AfCFTA.
“Our trade with the continent, if you remove Sacu and SADC, is about 2%. So there will not be much loss. I feel there will be more benefits in the long run for Namibian products and services as our economy is a lot more diversified than most on the continent.”
