COMESA states to adopt electronic certificate of origin to boost trade

COMESA held the 41st meeting of the Trade and Customs Committee at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Nairobi, on July 22, 2025. [Benard Orwongo, Standard] Traders within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region have been urged to adopt electronic certificates of origin to facilitate smoother trade across member states. The call was made during the opening of the 41st COMESA Trade and Customs Committee meeting held in Nairobi on Tuesday. The meeting also addressed strategies to shield businesses in the region from the effects of global economic disruptions, including trade tariffs recently imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Christopher Onyango, Director of the COMESA Trade and Customs Secretariat, said implementing digital systems, particularly the Simplified Trade Regime (STR), will significantly enhance trade facilitation across the bloc. "We also have in that system what we call the Trade Information Officers stationed at the border points, who are able to help them clear their goods as they conduct trade," he said. Mr Onyango noted that the STR programme aims to promote inclusivity by supporting the formation of trade associations and enhancing participation by women and youth, who make up the majority of cross-border traders. The forum also discussed updates on capacity building, Free Trade Area operations, online systems for resolving non-tariff barriers, and outcomes from the COMESA Heads of Customs. "We have established monitoring committees in each member country and developed instruments to make sure that the barriers are easily reported and resolved without causing harm to traders," he said. On Trump tariffs, he said the meeting would not have come at a better time as it sought to "provide a platform to discuss practical policy measures that can offer solutions to the emerging global socio-economic and political challenges." The deputy director State Department of Trade, Alex Tomerang, who represented Principal Secretary for Trade Regina Ombam, urged swift action in addressing persistent non-tariff barriers. "Leverage digital technologies for trade facilitation, and explore innovative solutions to enhance the resilience of our supply chains, especially in the face of global disruptions and climate change impacts," he said. According to the committee, the meeting also seeks to prepare the country ahead of the COMESA Summit slated for October this year. "The summit will build the capacity of our traders because there will be a business forum where there will be exhibitions," said Tobias Odongo, Comesa focal Point-Kenya representative. According to Onyango, the strategies would ensure an increase in intra-regional exports to at least 25 per cent of total exports within the region by 2026 from the 10 per cent baseline in 2021. However, he raised concerns over stagnation of below 10 per cent that Comesa has registered within the 2021-2025 Medium-Term Strategic Plan (MTSP), with exports to the EU and other external partners still surpassing intra-regional trade. Currently, intra-COMESA trade ranks fourth after the EU, China, and India. "These trade statistics, coupled with the emerging global socio-economic challenges alluded to earlier, present compelling cases for us to take extra ordinary measures to save our economies and the strong foundations we have so far laid," said Onyango.

COMESA states to adopt electronic certificate of origin to boost trade

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COMESA states to adopt electronic certificate of origin to boost trade

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