This paper analyses trade and trade policy developments in 22 countries of eastern and southern Africa (ESA) during the 1990s, covering regional and multilateral integration issues, and the interaction between trade policies and macroeconomic conditions. It also discusses the challenges faced by these countries. The conclusions of the report are: that a number of countries made significant progress towards opening up their economies during the 1990s resulting in narrowing the gap in trade restrictiveness between their regimes and other regions of the world; in service sectors, notably banking and telecommunications, the ESA countries have more restrictive regimes than other countries; there was an improvement in the trade performance of ESA countries during the 1990s; links with the region are intensifying; initial adverse macroeconomic conditions in many of the countries did not appear to hamper their trade liberalisation efforts. The report raises policy issues that will confront ESA countries, especially in the light of the likely changes in their trading environment.