Trade facilitation in Ethiopia: the role of WTO accession in domestic reform

Abstract

Ethiopia is one of the countries with excessive challenges in cross border trade. The high cost of doing business across borders in Ethiopia has become a major constraint. The focus of this article is trade facilitation which requires the examination of the dynamic gains associated with lowering trade transaction costs and identifying the relative importance of related trade policy reform measures in Ethiopia. In particular, the current state of the law and practice in trade facilitation and the international trading environment in Ethiopia are examined. The article focuses on customs law, border institutions, transport and logistics services and various issues related with investment and trade policy. In so doing, it attempts to examine how Ethiopia’s WTO Accession and trade facilitation instruments can be streamlined with domestic reform.