Botswana Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in botswana, 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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Botswana imposes few tariff-based barriers to trade, with customs duties calculated based on the value of goods and varying by product category and Harmonized System (HS) Code.  However, non-tariff barriers include import permit requirements for certain food products, seasonal trade bans on selected agricultural goods, a state monopoly on beef exports, and increasing local procurement preferences by both government and private companies, which can disadvantage foreign businesses.  Licensing restrictions also reserve certain business operations for Botswana companies.

Efforts are underway to liberalize the beef market with the planned establishment of the Meat Regulatory Authority (MIRA), which aims to reduce the monopoly of the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) in beef exports.  However, MIRA has yet to be operationalized.  Additional barriers include limited access to finance for small and medium enterprises, bureaucratic delays in customs clearance, work permits, and visas for skilled foreign workers, high input costs, and low worker productivity.

Foreign companies are advised to register with the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) for assistance in navigating trade barriers.  BITC also operates a Trade Portal to facilitate cross-border trade.  The Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) offers a Direct Trader Input (DTI) facility, enabling traders to compile and submit customs declarations electronically, streamlining the customs process.

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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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