Namibia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in namibia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Trade Barriers
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Namibia has a number of trade barriers.  Beyond customs delays, the government has imposed a number of import and export restrictions, mostly on agricultural products.  White maize, wheat, mahangu (pearl millet), and products derived from these three grains are controlled.  Controlled grain crops can only be imported or exported with permits issued by the Agronomic Board and the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR).  For each controlled grain there are specific restrictions, but restrictions do not include price controls. 

The government has also instituted an import substitution program for horticultural products requiring importers to source a designated percentage of produce from within Namibia before acquiring horticultural products from foreign markets.  Farmers of livestock must demonstrate that they have complied with export restrictions before they are entitled to export.  For example, for every live sheep exported, a farmer must have six sheep slaughtered within Namibia.

As a member of SACU, Namibia is bound by certain tariff quotas that affect the import of food products, namely butter, cheese, milk powder, and wheat.

Resources

·        Ministry of Industrialization and Trade

·        Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Forestry

·        Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources

·        Ministry of Health and Social Services

·        Ministry of Finance

·        Namibian Standards Institute

·        Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU)

·        World Trade Organization Trade Policy Review (TPR) of SACU.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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