Omega Ukama 
Zimbabwe has tightened its grip on 16 percent of tariff lines on imported goods.
MUTARE — Zimbabwe has tightened its grip on 16 percent of tariff lines on imported goods within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region in a bid to protect and revive its fragile industrial sectors, the Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) has revealed.
CTC director Ellen Ruparanganda said out of 6 380 tariff lines issued on various goods across the industrial sub-sectors, Zimbabwe liberalised 84 percent and tightened control on the remainder “which are to do with employment and industrialisation”. Ruparanganda said Zimbabwe, which signed several bilateral, regional and multilateral trade negotiations, has applied to SADC for a special dispensation not to fully implement its commitments.
“We cannot lower duty for these sectors because we have to protect them until a time when our industry has fully recovered. Only then can we do that. So these are the industry sectors that we are saying constitute 16 percent of the tariff lines that we have failed or not yet implemented,’’ she told The Financial Gazette on the sidelines of an awareness workshop at a city hotel recently.
Several products that include milk, clothing and textiles and sugar, among others, constitute the 16 percent tariff lines that are under protection.
Most goods are covered under Statutory Instrument (SI) 64 of 2016 that was implemented by government following wide consultations with industry players, including the CTC.
SI 64 removed a wide range of imported products that are locally manufactured from the Open General Import License — in an effort to resuscitate ailing industries.
Ruparanganda said the stance not to implement the 16 percent of regional tariff lines was borne out of the 2008 economic meltdown, which resulted in massive industry collapse.
‘‘Our industry was affected between 2008 until now owing to foreign currency unavailability among a host of other challenges. So we identified sectors that have potential and quick wins, industries that can quickly recover after they are protected,’’ she said.
Ruparanganda warned that any premature rush to liberalise all tariff lines in regards to imports from the SADC bloc will be catastrophic to industrialisation and employment creation efforts.
‘‘If we open the borders now and imports flood in, those industries will collapse. If they collapse, it means loss of employment and companies. So that’s the main threat,’’ she said.
CTC was established in 2001 following an amalgamation of the Industry and Trade Competition Commission and the Tariff Competition to administer Trade Tariffs Policy, and Competition Policy and Law.
Under its tariffs division, CTC is mandated to undertake investigations relating to tariff charges with a view to assisting local industries under threat from external competition.
It also provides technical assistance on market access to
government during bilateral, regional and multilateral trade negotiations.
The commission further investigates any unfair trade practices regarding the importation of goods into Zimbabwe such as dumping, subsidised exports and any other trade distorting competition. newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw
