	african states agree to regional tariff cuts fifteen countries in eastern and southern africa have agreed to cut tariffs on regional  by pct every two years up to a statement by the preferential  area pta which seeks to create a common market stretching from ethiopia in the north to lesotho in the south said the governments would make the first tariff cut next year in they would assess the impact of the tariff reductions and work out a new timetable for the complete elimination of all barriers to  by the year the pta set up in groups burnudi the comoros djibouti ethiopia kenya lesotho malawi mauritius rwanda somalia swaziland tanzania uganda zambia and zimbabwe pta sources said the agreement averted a split between members wanting more progress towards free  and weaker states concerned about the effects on customs revenue the reductions cover only a common list of or so widely d commodities and goods but pta sources said the organisation planned to expand the list to include items reuter 
