Zimbabwe Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in zimbabwe, 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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The Government of Zimbabwe is generally committed to a policy of import substitution, and as a result will sometimes impose a ban on the export of a good for which it believes there is sufficient domestic processing capacity.  For example, in August 2021 the government announced, without warning and with immediate effect, a ban on the export of raw chrome in a bid to support the domestic ferrochrome industry. In December 2022, the GOZ imposed a ban on raw lithium exports, requiring firms to set up plants to process the ore into concentrates before exporting.  Such unpredictable changes in government policy make long-term planning difficult.

Zimbabwe also has partial import bans on various meat products citing consumer protection or disease prevention considerations, although these measures also have the effect of protecting local producers from foreign competition.  Although the government allows the importation of a limited amount of goods for personal use, the government generally requires importers to obtain product-specific import licenses. 

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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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