Gov’t firms up Infant Industry Protection scheme
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday August 31, 2026 06:00
The development was announced recently during a stakeholder engagement on the implementation of the Infant Industry Protection measure in support of industrial development in the country.
Speaking during the engagement, the Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Tiroeaone Ntsima, said effective February 2026, government introduced additional customs duties on the three products. A 10% additional duty was imposed on shade nets, increasing the applied rate to 30%, whilst thermal paper rolls attracted a 20% additional duty, bringing the applied rate from zero to 20%. Surgical masks were also subjected to an additional 10% duty, increasing the applied rate to 30%.
'The decision demonstrated the government’s commitment to strengthening Botswana’s manufacturing sector by supporting carefully selected industries with the potential to increase domestic production, create employment, and promote value addition,' he said.
The Trade minister said Infant Industry Protection is a recognised developmental instrument provided for under Article 26 of the 2002 SACU Agreement. The provision allows less-developed SACU member states, including Botswana, to provide temporary support to qualifying emerging industries by imposing additional customs duties on like products imported from within SACU and from the rest of the world.
According to Ntsima, the objective is to create conditions that enable promising industries to become competitive, self-sustaining, and capable of successfully participating in domestic, regional, and international markets.
He stressed that the measures are not implemented arbitrarily, but are based on evidence-driven assessments of industries’ growth prospects, value-addition potential, employment creation opportunities, and broader developmental impact.
“The guiding principle remains that the benefits to the economy must outweigh the costs,” he said.
However, Ntsima acknowledged that tariff protection alone would not be sufficient to build sustainable industries. He said businesses would also require access to finance, markets, infrastructure, skills development, standards compliance support, technology, business development services, and investment.
The government is, therefore, pursuing a coordinated approach involving multiple institutions and support programmes to ensure that industries benefiting from protection receive the complementary assistance required to expand production, improve productivity, and strengthen their competitiveness.
Ntsima said the ultimate objective of the Infant Industry Protection programme was not to shield companies from competition indefinitely, but to develop industries capable of competing effectively after the protection period ends.
Government expects the measures to contribute to increased production, job creation, stronger local supply chains, and tangible economic benefits for communities such as Selebi-Phikwe, where industrial growth is expected to support wider economic activity.
Ntsima also acknowledged the lengthy process involved in securing the protection measures, including protracted consultations at SACU level, which in some instances lasted up to two years. He said the delays occurred whilst local industries faced serious existential threats, with investments exceeding P50 million and more than 80 jobs remaining at risk during the process.
Despite the challenges, Botswana ultimately secured approval for the measures whilst simultaneously contributing to the development of SACU Guidelines on the Implementation of Article 26. Ntsima said the guidelines would improve the administration of Infant Industry Protection across SACU by providing greater certainty, transparency and predictability for future applications.