Trade Liberalization
Over the past decade, SADC Member States have achieved significant reductions in tariff barriers within the region. By 2012, essentially all intra-SADC trade will be duty free. Moving forward, in addition to consolidating the gains of the FTA, SADC is embarked on an increasingly ambitious agenda which includes the establishment of the Tripartite FTA, a SADC Customs Union and eventually a SADC Common Market. SATH advisors will work to support SADC across these initiatives.
We will be working specifically in three sub-areas:
- Effective Implementation of the FTA
- Successful Implementation of the Tripartite Summit Agreement
- Increased Capacity of Member States to Engage in Trade Negotiations and Implement Trade Agreements
Cognizant of the export potential that Southern Africa has, the interest exhibited by businesses in taking advantage of the U.S. and other export markets and noting severe information gaps, SATH is launching a monthly column that will inform and talk exports; talk international trade; talk the language understood by firms that have a multi-market focus.
SATH continues to carry out an Update of the Lesotho Diagnostic Trade and Integration Study (DTIS). A DTIS evaluates internal and external constraints on a country's integration into the world economy, and recommends areas where technical assistance and policy actions can help the country overcome these barriers. During the months of January/February, a SATH team is undertaking the main fact finding mission to Maseru, Lesotho to gather information for the update. As part of the mission the team is meeting key private and public sector stakeholders involved in the trade and industry agenda, carrying out a survey of clearance agent and completing extensive regional level consultation stakeholder consultation.
Facilitating deeper discussion on the impact of non-tariff barriers (NTBs), internal as well as cross-border, on intra-SADC trade was the subject of two workshops held in Gaborone and Francistown, this month. The workshops, co-funded by the USAID Southern Africa Trade Hub (SATH) and Trade Mark Southern Africa (TMSA), were requested by the Government of Botswana, through the Ministry of Trade & Industry.
The SADC Protocol on Trade provided for the attainment of a Free Trade Area (FTA) in 2008 through the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade. Of the 15 SADC Member States, 12 are currently participating in the FTA with Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and the Seychelles yet to accede to the SADC Protocol on Trade.
In 2005, SATH in collaboration with Swaziland Investment Promotion Agency (SIPA), developed an Investor Roadmap for Swaziland. The roadmap detailed the administrative, procedural and regulatory barriers that may hinder investment into Swaziland. A number of recommendations were provided in the Roadmap in order to guide the reform process and the Roadmap was followed up by an audit on the implementation status in September 2009.
Activities