Malawi Customs deepens its Rules of Origin skills through advanced training workshop

Under the framework of the EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme, funded by the European Union, the World Customs Organization, in partnership with GIZ Malawi, and the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), held a national advanced training workshop on rules of origin for Malawi Customs. The workshop was held in Blantyre, Malawi, from 29 July to 2 August 2024 with the objective to assist MRA in enhancing its knowledge and application of preferential rules of origin and contribute to a seamless implementation of the AfCFTA and other relevant FTAs.

This workshop builds on the acquis from an intermediate training conducted in 2023 and forms part of a comprehensive technical assistance and capacity building partnership with MRA.

In his opening remarks, Mr Douglas Katchomoza, Acting Commissioner of Customs, thanked the WCO and the EU for their continued support in building capacity and stressed that a correct application of rules of origin is the anchor of trade facilitation, promoting trade and contributing to economic regional integration. He urged the participants to get the maximum benefit from the workshop, stressing that knowledge put to use equals power and that it would contribute to improving the Customs administration.

During the workshop, participants gained a deeper understanding of key concepts for proper origin determination, including possible flexibilities such as cumulation, tolerance rules and the absorption principle, as well as related operational and procedural issues, such as origin certification and verification. Case studies made the concepts more tangible and relatable, and allowed the participants to detangle the spaghetti bowl of rules of origin in various free trade agreements applicable in Malawi. Participants also had the opportunity to observe the practical application and management of rules of origin through field visits to a manufacturing factory and the Mwanza border station. The insights gathered from these visits underscore the importance of ongoing training for all stakeholders, and the need to strike a balance between trade facilitation for compliant traders and customs control.

The EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme will continue its work with Malawi Customs to equip Customs officials with extended knowledge for efficient implementation and application of rules of origin. As a next step, the Programme, still in cooperation with GIZ Malawi - a country component of the GIZ African Union programme supporting governments and agencies implement the AfCFTA - will conduct a training of trainers which will pave the way for Customs to further disseminate their knowledge to colleagues as well as to other relevant stakeholders.

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