Ruto, Museveni raise concerns over trade restrictions in East Africa

The two leaders met in Nairobi to discuss various issues, including trade, security, and regional peace. However, their meeting came amid a rise in non-tariff barriers in a region where trade potential is performing at nearly three times its actual level.

The Ugandan leader said the region must “wake up” and make “rational” decisions about trade and the economy. He was due to deliver a public lecture at Kenya's National Defence College.

Ruto said that their discussions had focused on "persistent non-tariff barriers (NTBs) that hinder the flow of goods and frustrate the objectives of regional integration under the EAC framework".

Neither leader mentioned specific countries. However, this meeting followed Tanzania's decision to ban foreigners from 15 economic activities generally considered "small businesses", which caused unrest within the regional common market protocol. Dodoma argued that this would protect locals from unfair competition from foreigners, even though their own nationals have the same opportunities in the East African Community. The move was condemned by stakeholders in the private sector. Tanzania has also reintroduced an industrial levy on goods produced in partner states, which seems to violate the common external tariff that is intended to protect the region while encouraging the growth of its industries.

In Nairobi, however, the Ugandan leader said that the wider eastern Africa region operates like a house with rooms scattered across different countries.

“You have countries like Uganda that has no access to the ocean. South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, CAR, Chad…even Ethiopia, that big country, no access to the sea. And people are not working to solve that. They are content. And you are president, minister...what are you ministering about?” he posed at a joint press briefing in Nairobi.

“If you are not solving the issue of access to the market…how will you solve that? Whoever is president, you will solve that.

“When you produce goods and services, the next question is who buys? If you don’t answer that and you are a leader…the future is very bleak. I am glad the region is waking up.

“How can you have a sitting room in another country, a bedroom in another country? A kitchen in another country…how can we have an arrangement like this...?”

The meeting was the first in Nairobi this year, with Kenya and Uganda also commenting on trade disputes concerning their products including milk and poultry.

“The East African Community continues to demonstrate its ability as a good model for regional integration. We emphasise the centrality of unity, economic convergence and shared prosperity as guiding principles for deeper integration,” Ruto said.

According to the EAC secretariat, intra-trade between its members has been rising steadily, albeit struggling with non-tariff barriers. In 2024, the EAC's total trade with the rest of the world increased by 14.17 percent to $124.9 billion, up from $109.4 billion. Intra-trade between members also increased by 9.35 percent, reaching $15.2 billion — amounting to 12.17 percent of the total trade volume.

However, experts at the East African Business Council claim that this figure could reach 60 percent if member states were more committed to implementing decisions regarding common external tariffs and non-tariff barriers.

For example, of the eight East African Community Member States that have endorsed the budgets for the next fiscal year, so far four have relegated the idea of a regional external tariff agreement to the periphery, focusing instead on national interests.

In early July, the Council stated that addressing Common External Tariff (CET) challenges and comprehensively eliminating non-tariff barriers in the region would unlock $63.4 billion in regional trade.

During a meeting at the State House in Nairobi, the two presidents emphasised the need to resolve these barriers in a principled, practical and timely manner given their direct impact on livelihoods, particularly for farmers and small traders.

According to President Ruto, the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) is expected to hold its mid-term review in October this year, which will be crucial for matters affecting trade across borders. The JMC is a formal joint technical committee that responds to issues affecting both sides.

Additionally, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening regional institutions and furthering the objectives of the East African Community, including progress under the Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union and ultimately a Political Federation, among others.

During the visit, the two leaders signed agreements in eight areas, which are expected to strengthen ties between the two countries.

These include a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on trade, energy, mining sector development, tourism, agriculture and the animal industry, fisheries and aquaculture cooperation, investment promotion, and the transport sector.

They also signed an MoU on cooperation between the Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Uganda Bureau of Standards. This MoU provides a framework for the exchange of scientific and technical knowledge between the two bureaus, with the aim of building their scientific and technical capacity.

Both leaders also reiterated the importance of regional peace and stability.

“We reaffirmed our position that security is essential to sustainable development and commended ongoing regional peace-building initiatives. We further agreed to collaborate closely in conflict resolution efforts, advocating inclusive approaches, supported by both regional and international frameworks,” statement reads.