The East African Community (EAC) has taken a major step towards the advancement of liberalisation of trade in services, following the endorsement of the regulatory audit reports on services sectors by the EAC Regional Committee on Trade in Services.
This follows a directive by the EAC 45th Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment held in November 2024, which observed the need by Partner States to understand the findings contained in the audit reports and to hold sector specific engagements with stakeholders at both national and regional levels.
The reports, developed by the Africa Free Continental Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat for the EAC Partner States, are typically focused on assessing the compliance of service trade regulations with regional and international standards. The reports aim to assists government officials in the identification of restrictions in the context of trade negotiations, and cover various sectors, such as professional services, computer services, telecom services, postal and courier services, audiovisual services, construction, distribution, financial services, health, tourism and transport.
Key components of the regulatory audit reports on trade in services include the evaluation of existing laws and regulations governing trade in services, assessing key restrictions on market access and national treatment that affects the supply of services into the country, reviewing the effectiveness of implementation and enforcement mechanisms and providing actionable recommendations to improve regulatory frameworks, ease trade restrictions and promote cross-border service delivery.
In May 2025, trade professionals from across the EAC Partner States including representatives from the National Committees on Trade in Services as well as trade experts from the EAC Secretariat and development partners convened in Kampala, Uganda, to consider the progress on removal of identified restrictions in selected services sub-sectors. This regional meeting follows a series of national committee meetings held between February and March 2025 with over 200 trade experts providing their respective national insights on the identified restrictions.
Speaking at the regional meeting, Mr. Bramah Kaleve, Deputy Director, External Trade, State Department of Trade, Republic of Kenya and the chair of the regional committee, emphasized the importance of this activity in enhancing trade in services in selected sub-sectors. He acknowledged the efforts of the national committees in addressing the issues in discussion in each Partner State and highlighted that the recommendations of the regional committee should focus on concrete issues that require attention by EAC’s sectoral committee on Trade which thereafter, reports to the Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI).
Representing the EAC Secretariat, Ms. Annette Kenganzi, Senior Exports Promotion Officer, acknowledged the commitment of the Partner States and appreciated the support of development partners, particularly GIZ, through LIFTED, a project co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). She noted that these efforts have been key in moving forward regional discussions on trade in services.
The report findings, which is to be shared with Partner States as directed by the 46th Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment, will inform experts and policy makers on progressive liberalisation of Trade in Services such as negotiations of the remaining sectors, and implementation thereof.
Key milestones have been achieved so far, including steady progress on negotiations at continental level in five-priority sectors, with forty-nine State and non-State Parties submitting their offers and, twenty-two schedules of specific commitments being adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government at the Africa Union.