On Friday the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) launched the STR in Victoria Falls.
The STR will allow small informal traders to import and export goods worth US$500 duty-free as part of a move to promote the Free Trade Area within the COMESA bloc.
Ottilia Chikosha, the Regional Export Promotion Trust Director, said the STR was aimed at facilitating easy import and export of goods by removing duty on specified goods. The move by COMESA has been hailed as a welcome development with the potential to increase trade within the region and improve livelihoods of cross borders traders.
This is an opportunity for all the small to medium scale enterprises in both countries to exploit for their benefit, Chikosha said. There are no more impediments to doing business.
Chikosha paid tribute to both governments for seeing the need to enter into such key partnership that has the potential to generate significant revenue for those in the small and medium enterprises sector.
We therefore call upon the cross border traders to make use of the facility, she said.
The COMESA Simplified Trade Regime has been introduced to solve the problems faced by small scale cross border traders such as delays in the clearing of goods and processing of tax refunds as well as high costs of clearance.
Post published in: Economy