East Africa does not lack protocols. It lacks consistent enforcement. Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) continue to set back the region’s trade potential.
The EAC heads of state have set an ambitious target to raise intra-EAC trade from about 15 percent to 40 percent by 2030. Yet even as trade rose from about $9.8 billion in 2021 to $12.1 billion in 2023, and $14.3 billion in 2024, the regional share remains far below where it should be. East Africans want to trade with one another but policy friction keeps holding them back.
