Moving Beyond Tariffs. Harmonizing Standards for Inclusive, Resilient and Self Sustaining Integration
By Michelo Maunga Through trade, goods and services, can move across international borders. While this is well regarded to stimulate business and economic growth, it places a requirement for home governments, to regulate the products that enter their markets. This is intuitive given the importing country is unable to accurately monitor production processes in the jurisdiction of the exporter. The tools commonly employed in this respect, are Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), and specifically standards. According to the Zambia Bureau of Standards [1] , a standard is a document which outlines the specifications that would deem a good fit for consumption or application. These regulations can, however, distort trade. In certain instances, a state’s rationale for their imposition is not to protect the consumer, but rather to shield domestic producers from competition. Within the context of tariff liberalization, this is known to negate the benefits of Free Trade Agreements (...