Ministers try to hammer out trade relations between neighbours

HARARE: Zimbabwean minister of industry and commerce Mike Bimha has met his South African counterpart, Rob Davies, to discuss bilateral trade issues, including Zimbabwe’s recent move to ban selected imports from South Africa.

Bimha told a press briefing yesterday that South Africa welcomed Zimbabwe’s clarifi- cation on the import ban, with the two countries pledging to further cement their trade ties.

South Africa is Zimbabwe’s biggest trading partner but a recent import ban by Zimbabwe on some South African products appeared to have unnerved South Africa, with some media reports indicating the country was considering retaliatory action.

However, Bimha said Davies denied South Africa intended to hit back at Zimbabwe over the import ban.

“He did regret the negative reports that have been circulating in the media on these measures which were more of making reference to issues that South Africa was resorting to measures to retaliate against our Statutory Instrument (SI) 64 of 2016,” Bimha said. Zimbabwe effected the instrument in June. It puts restrictions on importation of 42 products, mainly from South Africa.

Zimbabwe says the measure, which it argues is not an import ban, is aimed at protecting the local industry as it only targets products that are already produced in Zimbabwe.

Bimha said Zimbabwe wanted the import restrictions to be in force for the next two to three years to allow struggling Zimbabwean companies to improve production capacity.

The government would put in place funding schemes for the affected companies to enable them to recapitalise during the protection period, he said.

Zimbabwean manufacturing companies are struggling with lack of funding to retool and acquire raw materials, a development that has left them teetering on the brink of collapse, hence the government’s intervention through various measures such as the import ban.

Meanwhile, Bimha said South Africa had requested Zimbabwe to either reduce or exempt from tax its 112 products that it exports to Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe was consulting on the matter, Bimha said, adding ministers of health from the countries were discussing a matter where there should be reciprocity in the trading of pharmaceutical products. – Xinhua