By Elizabeth R. Auma K, Trade Policy Leader/Bridging Policy, People & Purpose/ Founder, Hearts&Trade

Mama Sarah woke up one morning to exciting headlines. Her country, together with other members of a regional bloc, had committed to removing tariffs. To her, the message was: exporting had just become easier.

It felt like their long-awaited prayers had just got another blessing; she and her neighbors had just harvested a bumper maize crop. Excited, they collected sacks of maize from their gardens. With Mama Sarah leading the way, they set off towards a neighboring country they barely knew. None of them had ever exported before. The only thing they held as a pass was confidence birthed in them by the news headline announcing free trade.

Unfortunately, the excitement ended at the border. Their maize was rejected because it did not meet the required standards and procedures. They were told they needed an SPS certificate. A name they probably confused as ‘Sell Produce and Send ‘; confused, they protested, “But we were told there is free trade.”

The officer behind the desk attempted to explain, but the requirements were overwhelming to people hearing them for the first time. They returned home discouraged and reported the matter to their local council, which was equally unfamiliar with the export procedures. Unfortunately, this is the plight of many small traders.

The headlines announce free trade, yet the actual process often requires information, guidance, and technical knowledge that many ordinary traders simply do not possess. Without that knowledge, they become dependent on experienced middlemen, who often profit far more from the trade than the producers themselves.

Eventually, someone hears Mama Sarah’s story. The complaint is classified as a Non-Tariff Barrier, and government institutions begin resolving it. Meetings are scheduled. Technical committees are formed. Consultations are organized. Some engagements are postponed. Letters are exchanged. Months pass.

Ironically, the very processes designed to remove the Non-Tariff Barrier begin to function as barriers themselves. This raises an important policy question.

How can governments ensure that the systems established to eliminate Non-Tariff Barriers  don’t themselves become Non-Tariff Barriers?

The objective of removing NTBs is to facilitate trade, not simply to create another process. Every unnecessary delay, prolonged consultation, or avoidable procedural bottleneck carries a cost. While institutions deliberate, traders lose contracts, goods perish, markets shift, and confidence in open markets declines.

Removing Non-Tariff Barriers therefore requires more than identifying the problem. It requires governments to respond with the same urgency that traders experience.

Otherwise, we may proudly celebrate mechanisms for resolving NTBs while unintentionally creating new ones in the process.

I believe that the true measure of an effective NTB mechanism is not the number of meetings held or reports produced, but how quickly Mama Sarah can return to the border and successfully sell her maize.