{"id":20734,"date":"2016-03-16T09:19:10","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T07:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.times.mw\/?p=20734"},"modified":"2016-03-16T09:19:10","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T07:19:10","slug":"removing-barriers-to-enhance-bilateral-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/2016\/03\/16\/removing-barriers-to-enhance-bilateral-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Removing barriers to enhance bilateral trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bilateral Ministerial Meeting on Trade between Mozambique and Malawi was held in Tete, Tete Province, Mozambique on 4th March 2016. The delegation of the Republic of Malawi was led by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Joseph Mwanamvekha MP and the Mozambican delegation was led by the Minister of Commerce and Industry Ernesto Tonela. The meeting was co-chaired by both leaders of the delegations. Below is an abridged version of the minutes taken during the discussions. <\/strong><\/p>\n

In his opening remarks, the leader of the Mozambican delegation welcomed the delegation of Malawi and indicated that the meeting was being held in order to follow up on issues discussed and agreed in the June 2015 meeting in Maputo, Mozambique. He indicated that the meeting would be discussing what the senior officials had discussed the previous day. He expressed hope that the meeting would go a long way in cementing the brotherly relationship that exists between the two countries.<\/p>\n

Statement by Malawi Minister of Industry and Trade <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Minister, Joseph Mwanamvekha, recounted that trade relations between Malawi and Mozambique date back to the colonial days when the former colonial masters of Great Britain and Portugal concluded the Nyasaland-Portugal Trade Arrangements in 1957. The aim was to facilitate easy access to the sea and free flow of goods and services between the two countries.<\/p>\n

He explained with delight that in the post-independence era, the two countries have maintained and strengthened their trade and economic cooperation by, among other things, concluding a Bilateral Trade Agreement in December 2005 which was negotiated under the broader structure of Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation (JPCC).<\/p>\n

He indicated that recognising the importance of Mozambique as a trade partner, Malawi has established a Trade Promotion Office in Tete to promote trade and investment by taking advantage of phenomenal economic growth taking place in Tete.<\/p>\n

Statement by Mozambican Minister of Industry and Trade <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Leader of the Mozambican delegation Ernesto Max Tonela reminded the meeting that the bilateral relations between the two countries date from way back and was happy to see the relations growing from strength to strength.<\/p>\n

The Leader of the Mozambican delegation indicated that, just as Malawi uses Mozambique as a transit route, Mozambique was happy to use Malawi as a transit route as well. He, for instance, cited the Vale Railway Project as having brought the two countries together in various aspects.<\/p>\n

He expressed commitment to work hard to remove all trade barriers between the two countries for the development of the private sector and promote actions that would facilitate trade between the two countries. He also reiterated the Mozambican Government\u2019s commitment to participate in Malawian International Trade Fairs and Investment Conferences.<\/p>\n

Deliberations on the agenda <\/strong><\/p>\n

Contra Marca <\/strong><\/p>\n

Under this agenda item, two issues were discussed. Firstly, was the concern raised by Malawi that data on contra marca is received once a month and often when goods have already been delivered. Malawi, however, asked whether the Contra Marca was necessary as it was an added cost to doing business for Malawian transporters. Malawi also indicated that Malawi does not charge any fee similar to the contra marca fee to Mozambican transporters. Malawi, therefore, wondered whether the contra marca could be scrapped off.<\/p>\n

In response, Mozambique indicated that the contra marca is a code that is issued to a clearing agent automatically once the agent submits information into the Single Window System. Mozambique also explained that there is no cost on the contra marca. Costs are only paid on the single window system but not the contra marca since it is just a code.<\/p>\n

The second issue raised by Malawi was the delay in the issuance of contra marca numbers. At the moment, the Malawi Revenue Authority is getting the contra marca data once per month when truckers had already offloaded in Malawi.<\/p>\n

In this regard, Mozambique committed to resolve the matter at the Single Window System in Maputo where the single window is centrally managed. Mozambique, therefore, committed to take up the matter and ensure that this matter is resolved by end of March 2016.<\/p>\n

Unfair treatment of Malawi transporters at the Port of Beira <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Malawi delegation appreciated that Beira was a busy Port. However, the problem was that it sometimes takes up to eight days for trucks to load and unload cargo. Malawi explained that, as such, Malawian transporters are disadvantaged on allocation and loading of cargo at the Beira Port. The other problem was the unreceipted charges paid at the port. This eats into the transporter\u2019s profit margin.<\/p>\n

Mozambique undertook to closely review the issue and committed to addressing the matter to ensure that it is resolved. The Port authorities will strive for a balanced and fair share of loading opportunities for Malawian transporters as the case is with transporters of other countries that use the Port of Beira.<\/p>\n

The meeting resolved that the two associations responsible for clearing and forwarding in Malawi and Mozambique should meet by end March 2016 to discuss the issue and report to the main committee.<\/p>\n

Representatives of the two Governments, particularly the Ministry of Transport and Communications, shall also be part of the team to oversee the exercise.<\/p>\n

Breaking of Seals <\/strong><\/p>\n

It was indicated that breaking of seals is an accepted practice internationally. Therefore, the breaking of seals as a matter of procedure, must follow internationally accepted norms including providing the necessary documentation and reports signed by authorised personnel, and this was the normal practice.<\/p>\n

Malawi further indicated that the problem with this issue is that the seals are broken by other authorities other than customs authorities. Malawi also suggested that the two customs authorities should agree on what constitutes sensitive and suspicious cargo. This is to avoid the situations where consignees are refusing to accept their consignments because they suspect that their cargo has been tampered with, especially where the cargo is food related.<\/p>\n

The meeting agreed that customs authorities and other relevant authorities such as transport operators from both sides should work jointly in addressing the matter by the end of March 2016. The meeting also agreed that problems of breaking of seals should be reported on a case by case basis.<\/p>\n

Security of cargo in transit <\/strong><\/p>\n

This issue was raised by Malawi. It was reported that Malawi wanted Mozambique\u2019s assistance on this since some transporters were sometimes assaulted in places such as Capirizange and Luenha River areas which have steep slopes and trucks move slowly. It was observed that even after reporting the incidents, the affected transporters were not assisted by the Mozambican authorities.<\/p>\n

Mozambique gave a brief update of the progress on the matter which was being handled by the relevant authorities. The incidents also affected locals as well as Zimbabwean transporters. It was reported that an investigation into the matter is ongoing and some of the perpetrators are in jail.<\/p>\n

The Mozambican side explained that should road transporters and any road users have information on cases of insecurity along the transit route that should be quickly submitted to the Mozambican authorities so that they can act efficiently and help the victims.<\/p>\n

Mozambique also committed to setting up the police posts in those security risk areas by June 2016. The Mozambique police authorities undertook to confirm the actual date to their Malawian counterpart. Both police forces from Malawi and Mozambique agreed to collaborate in providing security for transit cargo. Malawi Police also committed to cooperate on issues of security with their Mozambican counterparts.<\/p>\n

Vehicle Registration Certificates (Blue Books) <\/strong><\/p>\n

Mozambican regulations require drivers to carry original vehicle registration certificates since for Mozambique when a party buys a vehicle, is allowed by law to retain the registration certificate. Malawi explained that when a vehicle was purchased with a loan, banks normally retain the vehicle registration certificate (blue book). This was intended to avoid the reselling of the vehicle when the loan applicant retains the original vehicle registration certificate.<\/p>\n

Malawi also explained that moving with the vehicle registration certificate all over the place paused the high risk of loss of the certificate. Malawi, therefore, requested for waiving of the requirement to enable truckers carry a certified copy of the vehicle registration certificate.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Malawi reported that description of vehicle colour was based on the dominant colour in Malawi whilst in Mozambique it captures all the colours. Hence, when a vehicle from Malawi with registration only shows the dominant colour only on the certificate, the vehicle is apprehended by the Mozambican authorities. Malawi, thus, requested for consideration that vehicles should be allowed to show dominant colour only in their registration certificates.<\/p>\n

In view of the foregoing, the parties appreciated the challenge posed by the law and agreed to review the issue in three months. The two countries should also explore harmonizing these two issues as was the case with the Southern Africa Development Community Driving Licences.<\/p>\n

Memorandum of Understanding on Standards <\/strong><\/p>\n

Malawi noted that the MoU was submitted to the Mozambican institution responsible for standards and Malawi was awaiting a response from Mozambique. This is expected to be concluded by December 2016.<\/p>\n

Mozambique responded by indicating that the standards body had received the draft. In February 2016, the two Director Generals discussed the issue and noted that there were no contentious issues and should be concluded in time.<\/p>\n

Memorandum of Understanding on Trade Promotion <\/strong><\/p>\n

The meeting noted that the MoU on Trade Promotion was signed between the now defunct Malawi Export Promotion Council and the Mozambique institution responsible for investment and trade promotion. Since MEPC was dissolved and there is a new entity called Malawi Investment and Trade Centre, Malawi requested that the MoU be reviewed so that it is concluded by the new organisation. Malawi also requested Mozambique to favour them with a copy of the old MoU.<\/p>\n

Mozambique reported that just like Malawi, they were also carrying out reforms on institutions dealing with investment and export promotion in order to have one institution. As such, Mozambique was hesitant at the moment to pursue the matter in view of the development.<\/p>\n

Mozambique and Malawi undertook to sign an MOU within six months and Mozambique also undertook to provide Malawi with a copy of the old MoU.<\/p>\n

Closing remarks <\/strong><\/p>\n

The co-Chairs hailed the spirit in which the meeting was conducted and commended both delegations for the amount of ground covered. They noted the importance of holding regular discussions in order to enhance the cooperation between the two countries. They advised that the discussions would be meaningless if there would be no implementation on the agreed action points. The two Ministers, therefore, appealed to the officials to ensure implementation of the action points is done within the assigned timelines.\u2014Source: Ministry of Industry and Trade, Malawi.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bilateral Ministerial Meeting on Trade between Mozambique and Malawi was held in Tete, Tete Province, Mozambique on 4th March 2016. The delegation of the Republic of Malawi was led by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Joseph Mwanamvekha MP and the Mozambican delegation was led by the Minister of Commerce and Industry Ernesto Tonela. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20737,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20734\/revisions\/20737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}