Zimbabwean exports are made more competitive through a number of trade agreements which provide preferential access to much of the rest of Africa and Europe.Duty-free exports to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) have been restricted since 2003 when President George W Bush signed “targeted” sanctions regulations against politicians, military leaders and certain businesses.In March 2018, President Donald Trump extended the order, even though leadership had passed from Robert Mugabe to Emmerson Mnangagwa. The notice signed by Trump states: “The actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons, however, continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States.” The European Union (EU) has taken a different approach and Zimbabwe is the only mainland Southern African Development Community (SADC) country to be included in the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (iEPA)Zimbabwe signed the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) under the Eastern and Southern African Bloc with the European Commission (EC) on August 29, 2009 together with three island SADC countries (Madagascar, Seychelles and M a u r i t iu s). The interim EPA provides duty- and quota-free market access for all exports to members of the EU.In return, Zimbabwe agreed to phase out import tariffs on 80% of its traded goods with the EU, excluding products of animal origin, cereals, beverages, paper, plastics and rubber, textiles and clothing, footwear, glass and ceramics, consumer electronic and vehicles, according to ZimTrade. A pre-Brexit trade deal with the United Kingdom in the form of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is in place.The whole African market is being opened up by the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into effect on January 1. 2021.There are already strong trade links with fellow African countries through a series of agreements. Southern African trade agreements include:Zimbabwe – Botswana: reciprocal duty-free trade on all products grown, wholly produced, or manufactured wholly or partly from imported inputs subject to a 25% local content requirement. Zimbabwe – Malawi: Reciprocal trade agreement, with 25% domestic value-added requirements. Zimbabwe – Mozambique: The agreement provides for duty-free trade between the two members with the rules of origin specifying 25% domestic value added. Excluded from the agreement are refined and unrefined sugar, Coca-Cola/Schweppes soft drinks, firearms, ammunition and explosives, motor vehicles and cigarettes. Zimbabwe – Namibia: A reciprocal agreement subject to rules of origin that requires at least 25% local content for manufactured products, and that Zimbabwe and Namibia should, as exporters, be the last place of substantial manufacturing. Multilateral Trade Agreements include the SADC Trade Protocol, which provides preferential access for goods originating from SADC countries.Zimbabwe is also a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), which was declared a Free Trade Area (FTA) on October 31, 2000. The 14 member states are Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Kenya, Kingdom of Eswatini, Ethiopia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Somalia, Seychelles, Sudan, Tunisia and Uganda Zambia and Zimbabwe.
