Duty under the AfCFTA
“What duty does Kenya charge on roasted coffee from Ghana under the AfCFTA, and how does the rate fall year by year? Say which schedule the rates come from.”
Trade
Trade agreements, tariffs and rules of origin, answered from the texts
Ask what an agreement says, what duty a product pays going into a country, or what it takes for a product to count as made in Africa. Bwat reads the agreements, the EAC customs law, the tariff schedules and the AfCFTA rules for you, and links every answer to the article or schedule line it came from.
Bwat helps with research. It isn't a customs ruling or legal advice, so confirm a rate with the customs authority before you rely on it.
What duty does Kenya charge on roasted coffee coming from Ghana?
- Looked up the EAC tariff
- Read the EAC's AfCFTA schedule
- Checked the rule of origin
Two schedules apply. Coming from outside the EAC, the Common External Tariff rate applies 1. Under the AfCFTA, the same line is in the EAC's schedule, with a base rate that falls each year 2. The lower AfCFTA rate only applies if the coffee meets the AfCFTA rule of origin for its chapter 3, so check that before you price the deal on it.
- 1EAC Common External Tariff, chapter 9
- 2AfCFTA tariff schedule of the EAC
- 3AfCFTA rules of origin, chapter 9
One library instead of five websites
Agreements, protocols and annexes are held article by article, with their parties, signature and entry-into-force dates. EAC customs law and gazettes, trade policy guides and services commitments sit beside them, and the tariff schedules and origin rules are held as data, so a rate is looked up rather than guessed.
- Read any document in full, with a link to where it was published
- Filter by country, bloc or kind of document
- Agreements and EAC documents are checked for updates every week
- If something isn't in the library, Bwat says so
What the library holds
| Collection | What you get |
|---|---|
| Trade agreements | Full text, article by article, with parties and dates |
| EAC customs law | Protocols, the Customs Management Act, regulations and gazettes |
| Tariffs | EAC Common External Tariff lines and AfCFTA schedules |
| Rules of origin | AfCFTA product rules by chapter, heading and subheading |
| Services | GATS and regional commitments, mode by mode |
Each answer cites the document and the article, page or line it used.
Who uses it, for what
Exporters and importers
Check the duty on a product before you quote, and what the AfCFTA rate needs from your supply chain.
Trade finance
Test a deal's duty and origin assumptions against the schedules before the money moves.
Business associations
Answer members' questions with the article in hand, and brief them on what an agreement actually commits to.
Policy and advocacy
Compare what different agreements say on the same issue, and find the commitment behind a complaint.
Clearing and forwarding
Look up a tariff line, its unit and its sensitive-item status in seconds.
Researchers
Read the texts in full and follow every claim back to its source.
Questions to start with
Each one opens a chat with Bwat for Trade ready to switch on. Change the country or product to your own.
EAC Common External Tariff
“What is the EAC Common External Tariff rate on cane sugar, and is it on the sensitive items list?”
What an agreement says
“What do the AfCFTA texts say about eliminating non-tariff barriers? Quote the article and tell me which annex sets out the procedure.”
Rules of origin
“What must chocolate (HS 1806) go through to count as originating under the AfCFTA rules of origin?”
EAC customs union
“What does the EAC Customs Union Protocol say about internal tariffs between partner states? Point me to the articles.”
Services commitments
“Summarise Uganda's GATS services commitments: which sectors did it open, and with what limits on each mode of supply?”
Questions people ask first
- Do I need an account?
- Yes, and it takes a minute. The button on this page brings you straight back to a chat with Bwat for Trade ready to switch on.
- Where does the content come from?
- From public sources: the African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the East African Community, the WTO, and the databases that publish agreement texts. Every document links to where it was published.
- How current is it?
- Agreements and EAC documents are checked for updates every week. Tariff schedules and the Common External Tariff are updated when their publishers issue new versions. Dates and status are shown as the publisher reports them.
- Can I rely on a rate it gives me?
- Use it to research and to know what to ask. Stays of application, remissions and national measures can change what is charged at the border, so confirm with the customs authority before you rely on a rate.
- Can it use our own documents too?
- Yes. Put your contracts, invoices or reports in a Project and Bwat works across them alongside the trade library.
Ask it about a product you trade
Pick one you know well. You'll see quickly whether the answers hold up.