How non-tariff restrictions affect trade and economic growth in Zimbabwe (2017-2020)

The research was carried out to explore the effects of Non-tariff barriers to trade on economic growth in Zimbabwe. This study used the Logistics (Logit) model to quantify the impact on economic growth caused by Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade in general, particularly the SI 64 of 2016. The results of the study revealed that Anti-dumping Laws and, Intellectual property rights, import licenses and customs valuations are respectively 0.9 times and 0.7 times less likely to yield economic growth in the Zimbabwean context. The findings also suggested that positive improvements in export measures are more than 2 times more likely to ignite economic growth and development and more importantly, a positive strust in implementation of the the Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 is approximately 1.13 times more likely to yield significant economic growth in general, particularly in the Zimbabwean context. Based on the results, the current study concluded that implementation of the SI 64 of 2016 has brought into effect, considerable success in the Zimbabwean economy. Although the same Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 has brought about a notable success in the domestic manufacturing industry, its introduction was received differently by various stakeholders. The appetite for imported products grew among local consumers who found it cheaper to substitute locally manufactured products with cheaper imports. Consequently, local companies suffered as a result of the flooding of imports which prompted government intervention to rescue domestic manufacturers. This study also recommended that Zimbabwe must invest more in infrastructure development for the purpose of trade facilitation. Limited testing infrastructure constrains the ability of members to sign mutual recognition agreements with regional partners and instead, the fallback position becomes the standards of the most dominant trading partner, which may themselves constitute NTBs for lesser-developed regional partners.