Lower tariffs. Longer queues. What's actually changing at the border when three East African nations sign a new trade agreement is more complicated than headlines suggest.
For small-scale traders who move goods across borders daily - fabric from Kenya to Uganda, fresh produce from Tanzania to Kenya - every tariff rate matters. But the real story is how these agreements get implemented, who benefits, and who gets left behind.
The Real Impact at the Border
Trade policy sounds abstract until you're standing at a border crossing at dawn, waiting for paperwork to clear. That's where the details matter most.
This story explores what the new trade pact actually means for the millions of traders whose livelihoods depend on moving goods across borders - and what policymakers might be missing.