Welfare Implications of COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area

This study investigated the extent to which the implementation of the COMESA-EAC-SADC tripartite free trade area (T-FTA) will impact on the 26 participating member countries. The impact analysis was done with respect to welfare implications. The World Integrated Trade Solution (2011), the Software for Market Analysis and Restrictions on Trade (WITS-SMART) approaches were employed for the research. The findings were that close to $2 billion worth of new trade will be created, with the main beneficiaries being DRC and Angola. Around $454 million trade will be diverted resulting in a positive net trade of $1.5 billion across the 26 countries. The results also suggest that around $1 billion revenue will be lost following removal of import duties.