The meeting reviewed the various non-tariff barriers that exist in the two countries.
It was reported that the non-tariff barriers faced by Ugandan traders in DRC include:
- Multiplicity of services working on the DRC’s borders;
- Multiplicity of taxes imposed at borders;
- Harassment suffered by small traders on Congolese territory;
- High cost of the visa in the DRC;
- Poor state of some road network in the DRC close to the border;
- Charging of taxes on manufactured or processed products that are on the STR Common list
It was reported that the non-tariff barriers faced by DRC traders in Uganda particularly at GOLI, BUNAGANA and MPONDWE border posts include:
- Taxation of agriculture products which are on the STR common list on grounds that that the Ugandan system is not yet configured to accommodate the STR;
- 2. Harassment and repeated arrests of some traders in Uganda ;
- 3. High cost (about USD $3) of the temporary travel document to small cross-border traders;
- 4. Demand by some police officers to pay before exporting the products to the DRC