COMESA

The Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) was established by a treaty signed on 5 November 1993 in Kampala, Uganda. The agreement was ratified a year later in Lilongwe, Malawi on 8 December 1994. The COMESA treaty builds on an earlier preferential trade agreement and is aimed at creating a common market in Eastern and Southern Africa.

As a trade bloc, COMESA has 19 member countries: Angola, Burundi, Comoros, D.R. Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In October 2008, the member states of COMESA, the East African Community (EAC, with five members) and the Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC, with 14 members) agreed to merge as one giant 26-member tripartite free trade area (TFTA). (There is some overlap in membership among the current blocs.) This will take some time, as the three have different levels of economic integration.

As of late 2016, the implementation of the TFTA still faced unresolved issues, including tariff offers, rules of origin, trade remedies and dispute settlement.

last update: March 2017
photo: AmarinAfrica/CC BY-SA 4.0


EABW News | 21-Jul-2020
At least 82% of the reported Non-Tariff Barriers in the COMESA region are those imposed on imports and exports of goods and services and are largely operational by design. According to trade experts, these type of NTBs are easy to identify and monitor.
African Manager | 16-Mar-2020
La Tunisie peut désormais exporter ses produits vers 15 États membres de la zone de libre-échange du COMESA sans payer de droits d’importation.
Webmanager Center | 9-Dec-2019
La Tunisie entame officiellement, la mise en œuvre de la zone de libre échange du Marché commun de l’Afrique orientale et australe (COMESA), en janvier 2020.
Daily Monitor | 17-Oct-2018
Member states in the Comesa trading bloc who introduce new non-tariff barriers to trade may face sanctions as trade experts prepare to present this tough condition to Heads of State.
KT Press | 24-Jun-2018
Implementation of the much anticipated Digital Free Trade Area (DFTA) in central-Eastern Africa bloc will have to wait until member states agree on harmonization of policies.
| 2-Jan-2016
Kenya has been granted a one-year extension of sugar import limits from the regional trade bloc Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to revamp its ailing sugar industry.