Resource information
The East African Community has long
recognized that regional economic integration can yield
significant welfare gains to its member states. To that
end, the community has been making steady progress towards
the removal of tariffs and quantitative restrictions to
trade. Moreover, in recent years, there has been an
increasing recognition that: (a) even greater welfare gains
could be realized through deeper forms of regional
integration which entail harmonization of legal, regulatory
and institutional frameworks; and (b) reforms that reduce
cross-border transaction costs and improve the performance
of "backbone" infrastructure services are arguably
even more important for the creation of an open, unified
regional economic space than trade policy reforms narrowly
defined. Disparities of regulatory treatment across borders
can introduce distortions that hinder both cross-border
trade and the aggregate flows of investment on a regional
basis. Regulatory harmonization and infrastructure
regionalization could make a significant contribution to the
region's economic development by promoting a more
efficient utilization of its human and physical resources,
enhancing connectivity, reducing the costs of trade, and
facilitating the integration of the continent with the
global economy.
