1. Introduction

 

In October 2024, Namibia launched a new National Trade Policy (NTP) for the period 2024-2030 to guide its trade relations with the rest of the world and support the achievement of its Vision 2030 national development objectives of attaining developed country status by 2030. As a small and open economy, trade plays a critical role by providing market access for its goods and services into the global economy, thus transforming it from a natural and resource-based economy into a productive diversified economy with value addition capabilities. The new NTP focuses on enhancing Namibia’s trade performance, which currently faces various inter-related and self-reinforcing constraints, including:

1. Persistent structural constraints to economic growth which continue to hamper growth, job creation and trade performance, especially on exports.
2. A relatively limited narrow industrial base, primarily driven by extraction and limited processing of natural resources rather than by new high value-added and diversified productive capacities.
3. The small domestic market, with high levels of income inequality (a Gini-coefficient index of 64 in 2021) and unemployment (standing at 33.4 percent in general and 46.1 percent for the youth in 2018).
4. Inadequate levels of domestic and foreign direct investment (FDI) to spur productive diversification into new economic activities, including the required levels of productivity (skills and know-how).
5. Slow progress in building state capabilities to support effective implementation and management of strategic initiatives in the prioritised industrial and trade-related policy areas, including public-private dialogue and partnerships.

The new NTP focuses on both trade in goods and services, of which the latter is the most dynamic part of global trade and an essential input into the production of goods and services; an avenue for export diversification; and a significant contributor to inclusive growth, job creation and poverty alleviation.

 

2. NTP Guiding Principles

 

The following broad guiding principles underlie NPT 2024-2030:

1. Diversified export-led growth to ensure that Namibia’s exports of goods and services play a key role in growth, economic diversification, and development.
2. Enhanced market access to create favourable market access conditions for Namibian firms through existing and potential bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade agreements.
3. Global competitiveness to put in place competitiveness enhancing strategies that assist Namibian firms to penetrate international markets.
4. Integration into the global economy through active and effective participation in regional integration initiatives and multilateral arrangements.
5. Integration into regional and global value chains as a strategy for industrialisation through enhanced value and supply chains.
6. WTO compatibility to ensure that trade negotiations and agreements are in line with WTO principles and provisions, including issues for addressing developing countries’ development concerns through “special and differential treatment provisions” (SDT).
7. Private sector-led development to strengthen Namibian businesses to be globally competitive, including micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs), women and youth-owned businesses, as well as informal business through capacity building and business support interventions.
8. Poverty eradication to ensure that trade results in poverty reduction through citizen participation in trade activities and employment creation.
9. Sustainable development to ensure that critical issues such as gender equality, environment, and respect for human rights, especially the rights of workers, are mainstreamed into the trade and investment policy framework.

 

3. NTP Key Strategic Interventions

 

The NTP prioritises diversification of domestic economic activity, exports and markets, broadly based on strategic interventions and actions in the following areas:

1. Improving capacity for diversification and value addition in production of goods and services.
2. Diversification and increasing Namibia’s exports of goods and services.
3. Consolidation and diversification of export markets for Namibia’s goods and services.
4. Enhancing the National Quality and Standards Infrastructure to raise the country's productive and trade competitiveness and promote access to quality goods and services.
5. Attracting domestic and foreign direct investment in value addition production and services, including participation in regional value chains (RVCs) and global value chains (GVCs).
6. Enhancing trade facilitation and related reforms and logistics, including strengthening Namibia’s position as a regional trade, transport, and logistics hub.
7. Increasing availability of affordable trade finance, including access to credit and insurance facilities.
8. Enhancing the trade competitiveness of micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs), women, youth and persons with disabilities-owned or led enterprises.
9. Fostering an inclusive and competitive domestic business environment for trade in goods and services.
10. Enhancing a legal and institutional framework for the management of trade in goods and services.
11. Increasing institutional and technical capacity for national trade policy management