Kenya will set up warehouses in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo to increase exports and fend off competition in its key export markets, according to an Oct. 12 report from The East African. The “elaborate strategy” is expected to smooth challenges that come with “cross-border transportation of goods,” the report said, and give Kenyan companies “easy access” to the Burundi market. Kenya is facing competition from Tanzania, Uganda, China, India and Saudi Arabia for exports to the Rwanda and Burundi markets, the report said.

Nigeria is no longer allowing imports and exports through its land borders, according to an Oct. 14 report by Ships and Ports. The country’s Customs comptroller-general, Hameed Ali, said goods can now only be shipped through the country’s air and sea ports, which will allow security agencies to scan all imports. Ali said the change is aimed at ensuring that only safe and “certified” goods enter Nigeria, the report said. When asked if the new measures violate Nigerian citizens’ access to international trade, Ali said “when it comes to security, all laws take back a seat (sic).”

Ghana will sign a textile stamp policy agreement with industry stakeholders to require “textile manufacturers, importers and traders” to attach approved stamps to textile prints before they are sold, according to an Oct. 10 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The stamps must bear “key security features,” the report said. The measure is aimed at curbing textile smuggling into Ghana, whose textile industry is marred by “counterfeiting, piracy and smuggling,” the report said. The tax will also help reduce tax evasion at ports and prevent “fake and pirated product dumping on the local market,” the HKTDC said.

Oman is creating a department to regulate the country’s e-commerce sector and curb sales of counterfeit goods, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in an Oct. 8 report. The new agency, called the Electronic Commerce Department, will write regulations to monitor e-commerce websites, provide guidance to commercial websites, help organize “integrated commercial transactions” on open networks and help facilitate “the purchase and sale of goods and services via electronic networks,” the report said.

Jordan recently opened a new free zone at the country’s Queen Alia International Airport, which will provide tax exemptions and reductions, and no customs duties for imported items used for operating a company in the zone, according to a Sept. 25 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The zone, which opened Sept. 2, expands the previous zone that was established at the airport in 1998 and will provide “strategic advantages,” the report said, such as “easy access to air cargo services, major road networks, the Hijaz railway, and the port of Aqaba.” Within the new zone are “an administrative building, two business parks for commercial offices, a logistical services building for customs clearance and insurance companies, as well as banks and restaurants.” Management of the zone falls under the Jordan Free and Development Zones Group, the government body that coordinates and manages the country’s five free zones and two development zones.

The port of Mombasa recently removed a $2,000 (in U.S. dollars) container deposit guarantee requirement, according to a Sept. 23 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The deposit guarantee was required for each container before being released for transportation, HKTDC said. The change was welcomed by the Rwanda's private sector businesses, which “have long had issues with the deposit scheme,” the report said.

Nigeria is considering increasing its value-added tax rate from 5 percent to 7.2 percent, according to a Sept. 11 post from KPMG. The process will involve “extensive consultations” with Nigerian industry and state and local governments before it is approved, the post said, but could take effect before 2020. Nigeria’s current 5 percent VAT rate is the lowest in Africa, KPMG said.

Egypt’s National Food Safety Authority recently introduced new regulatory requirements for specialty foods that aim to protect Egyptian consumers and minimize “disruption to the stream of commerce, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released Sept. 11. The new regulations require certain foods to meet “common safety-based acceptability criteria” and “labeling obligations” and require registrations with the NFSA, the report said. FAS included a list of foods mentioned by Egypt, which include infant formula, cereal-based foods for infants and young children, canned baby foods, “foods for individuals with medical conditions,” and food supplements such as for athletes building muscle. Egypt will implement a transition period to comply with the new regulations that will last until Dec. 31, 2022, or end earlier for certain food categories if they have adopted their criteria, the report said.

Jordan recently implemented its new online platform for e-commerce customs processing, according to a Sept. 6 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The system, which took effect in August and aims to “to protect Jordanian traders, sellers and producers from consumers’ unwillingness to buy locally-produced goods,” requires express shipping companies to provide certain data through the system, the HKTDC said. At the same time, Jordan is also “drastically” reducing personal allowances for tax-free e-commerce imports from about $3,300 per year to just about $700 per year, the report said. The new limits apply only to footwear, clothing, children’s toys and “food items” and will be monitored for the first three months “to assess whether an effective balance is being achieved,” the HKTDC said.

Nigeria will begin imposing a 5 percent value-added tax on all online purchases starting January 2020, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in a Sept. 9 report. The VAT will be collected by Nigerian “bank card issuers and other electronic payment service providers” on behalf of Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service, the report said.