The CC – CU held its first meeting from 7th to 10th September 2009. Considering that the CU was much to do with trade, and that it involved Government revenues from extra COMESA trade, removal of Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and other trade facilitation initiatives, the COMESA Secretary General authorized that the first day of the session (7th September) be committed to a brain storming session with all stakeholders from both public and private sectors in the effort of identifying all the key issues that needed attention in order to have an efficacious CU.

The brainstorming deliberations brought out several issues among which salient ones are summarized below as follows:

1. Overlapping membership
The phenomenon of COMESA Member States belonging to other regional Economic Communities (RECs) such as the AMU, CEN-SAD, EAC, IGAD, IOC, SACU and SADC, presented Member States with a big challenge of multiple and potentially divergent procedures. The workshop stressed the need to synchronise developments in the different RECs so as to avoid having contradictory programmes. The workshop noted, for instance, the significance in harmonizing CU pertinent instruments such as the Rules of Origin, and the need to be clear on how the EPA arrangements will be operated during the CU.

The tripartite process running between COMESA, EAC and SADC was acknowledged as a definite positive avenue of convergence and appeal was consequently made that the tripartite process should share its harmonized areas, including the harmonization under the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).

2. Improved Private Sector Participation
The workshop was unanimous in accepting that the CU would only be successful if the private sector took advantage of the various opportunities and benefits offered under the CU. To that effect the private sector welcomed its invitation to the workshop and suggested that its participation in the key issues be institutionalised to the extent that it should even be holding meetings without participation of the public sector. There should be continuous sensitization of the private sector on the CU to enhance awareness on available opportunities that increase Member States’ participation in the internal market.

3. Consolidation of Gains in the COMESA Internal Market

The workshop noted that COMESA has made a lot of gains since the start of its integration agenda. The Region has, for instance, developed a system of identifying, reporting and resolving NTBs. COMESA should therefore use those gains to reach higher heights of how to deal with sensitive products and infant industries given the Common External Tariff and free circulation of goods within the CU.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The workshop came up with several recommendations which may be summarized as follows:

1. Since COMESA was now a Customs Union, it should actively participate in international negotiations such as the World Trade Organisation and World Customs Organisation as one body.
2. Stakeholders should be sensitized on the Customs Union and other COMESA programmes, and in so doing, the private sector should be closely involved so as to enable it take maximum advantage of the benefits offered.
3. COMESA should use the gains made so far to protect infant industries in the CU, and develop joint programmes in the new areas such as Common Copyright laws, Intellectual Property Right (IPR) laws, policy and guidelines, MDGs oriented poverty reduction initiatives such as Millennium villages, and structured marketing of produce especially in the agricultural sector taking a leaf from the modus operandi of the East African Grain Marketing Council (EAGC), an Organisation which markets agricultural produce on behalf of small scale farmers.