a) COMESA and EAC:

COMESA and the East African Community (EAC), have over the years coordinated so as to have similar CETs and customs procedures. This means that countries belonging to the two organisations can also participate in setting the trade policy in the other bodies thus ensuring coherence in the trade policies applied by the two CUs. The two CUs can also work together for the benefit of the other members that don’t belong to both.

In view of the above, the two planned Customs Unions can engage in FTA relations with the EU, the US, SACU, MERCOSUR and other large economies like China and India. They can also enjoin themselves to existing FTAs such as NAFTA by establishing trade and investment relations with such agreements.

The relations elaborated above would only be possible and meaningful once COMESA and EAC are one customs territory. An FTA is not a deep enough level of integration as the various member States as still separate and distinct customs territories.

COMESA, EAC and SADC have started joint working relationships with the view to having their future CUs harmonised