Local businesses cannot afford to ignore global trade talks

Whether we speak of agriculture, services, textiles and clothing, minerals, intellectual property or other topics, World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements dominate the international trade arena.

It said bi-lateral and regional trade agreements added layers of complexity to the environment in which business had to make decisions.

These trade agreements were negotiated and agreed at government level, but it was business that played a major role in implementing them.

In other words the agreements will invariably affect business whether positively or negatively. It is therefore important that businesses should always take a prominent role in influencing trade negotiations by partnering government and participating meaningfully in various government led missions.

Regrettably like in most developing countries, Zimbabwean businesses have not been inputting enough to trade negotiations, which will lead to the set of trade rules, Zimtrade noted. There has been little of business advocacy as global trade talks continue to shape the business environment. The business community needs to understand what is on the negotiating table and how they can influence the outcome.

If businesses do not take an active role the countrys chief negotiator, in this case the government can end up agreeing to trade arrangements that are not informed by the considered interests of local businesses. It is easy to have a situation where the countrys exports face barriers to enter foreign markets whilst the countrys market is opened to competition for which businesses will not be prepared.

Successful negotiations strategies depend to a large extend, on the quality of collaboration between the national trade negotiators (government) and business. Business needs to do its homework, on an industry basis, and inform governments under what sort of rules they can do business. It is paramount that business and government should work together and negotiate as one united team going forward.

Zimbabwe is part to trade agreements such as SADC Trade Protocol and COMESA Customs Union and to bilateral trade arrangements with neighbouring countries such as Namibia,Mozambique, Botswana and Malawi.

With the brain drain that has affected industry and commerce ZimTrade has seen a need to heighten awareness among current senior company representatives so that they can appreciate the importance of the provisions of such agreements.

Our advice to businesses is that they should take advantage of ZimTrade organised awareness workshops that are meant to ensure that existing and potential exporters are fully conversant with the agreements that Zimbabwe is party to. The need to re-negotiate the trade agreements can only come from the traders themselves after continuous evaluation of their impact on individual companies.

Zimbabwean businesses were encouraged to be proactive by understanding the current trade agreements, monitoring their effects on economic development in general and trade in particular and taking part in trade negotiations.

ZimTrade said it welcomed the views of businesses on any of the countrys current and future trade agreements.