Import restrictions on Sterling-area goods disadvantaged Northern business in the union

Evidence

Jirdeh spoke mainly about economic conditions in the region and described them as flourishing… . He … maintains an office in Mogadishu but stated that his business in Mogadishu was very poor due in part to the general low level of commercial activity of Mogadishu and the fact that goods from the Sterling area [the former British colonies] are at a disadvantage in the Southern region. He explained this was due to the restrictions placed on imports from the Sterling area while no such restrictions exist on Lira imports from Italy. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 636