Zero tariffs won’t solve Namibia’s export hurdles

Removing import tariffs does not guarantee that Namibian products will enter the Chinese market, as exporters must still meet China’s requirements for quality, packaging, food safety and documentation.

Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board acting chief executive Julia Muetudhana says businesses must also supply products consistently and deliver them on time.

“However, tariff-free access must be matched by overcoming non-tariff barriers,” she says.

Muetudhana made the remarks on behalf of international relations and trade minister Selma Ashipala-Musavyi at the China-Africa Cooperation Symposium in Windhoek yesterday.

From 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2028, China is allowing products from 20 more African countries, including Namibia, to enter its market without import tariffs.

Muetudhana said Namibia wants to expand exports beyond agricultural products to include processed food, meat and fish.

“We must extend this success to processed food, meat, fisheries, to benefit value chains across our economy,” she said.

She said Namibia also wants Chinese investment in manufacturing, mineral processing and skills development.

“We welcome joint ventures in manufacturing, agro-processing, green energy, and mineral beneficiation that build local capacity and transfer of skills,” she said.

Economic Association of Namibia chairperson Jason Kasuto says Namibia lacks enough businesses with the production capacity, certification, financing and transport systems needed to compete in China.

“So if we treat these instruments as diplomatic milestones to be welcomed and then filed somewhere, the trade figures will barely move,” he says.

Kasuto says Namibia must also negotiate mining agreements that support local processing, skills development and Namibian ownership instead of relying only on royalties and taxes.

He calls on the government to finalise rules governing minerals and petroleum before negotiating with investors.

Chinese ambassador to Namibia Zhao Weiping says the zero-tariff policy could increase African exports and encourage Chinese companies to invest in Africa.

“As we have seen, this policy in the near term will certainly help expand Africa’s export to China. It’s even more meaningful in the medium and long term since more Chinese companies will be encouraged by this policy to invest and operate in Africa,” he says.

Zhao says China has introduced measures to simplify customs clearance and ease quarantine requirements for African products.

He says China is also negotiating the China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development agreement to strengthen trade relations and make zero-tariff treatment permanent.

More than 40 African countries have signed framework agreements ahead of negotiations, he says.

University of Johannesburg research director Emmanuel Matambo says African countries must use the policy to reduce their dependence on raw material exports.

“We kept exporting raw commodities and then importing processed goods from overseas,” he says.

Matambo says the arrangement could make African products more competitive in China while encouraging local manufacturing and job creation.

He says Africa’s young population needs opportunities in manufacturing, processing and international trade.

“So let us make sure that this zero tariff is not an abstract regime that is celebrated by the elite but it is a tangible opportunity for ordinary Africans,” he says.

The symposium, held under the theme ‘China-Africa Partnership at 70: Deepening Collaboration and Exchanges’, marked 70 years of diplomatic relations between China and African countries.

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