ISDS Case Map
SACU
Southern Africa Customs Union
Negotiations for a free trade agreement between the US and the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) stalled last year in an atmosphere of impasse rather than acrimony. But on the explicit instruction of President Thabo Mbeki, the talks are now on again and new, ambitious targets have been set for their completion, as well as a new plan for getting past the problems that plagued the last effort.
The US and the five-member Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) will meet in the second half of September to kick-start trade negotiations that ground to a halt late last year after the two regions failed to reach consensus on a range of key issues.
The year-long deadlock in free-trade negotiations between the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) and the US appears to have been broken with talks set to resume in September.
Japan and South Africa agreed Thursday to form a study group to examine the feasibility of striking a bilateral free-trade agreement. Japan will proceed with South African FTA talks with an eye to eventually concluding a free-trade pact with the entire SACU.
The issue of trade visas, transfer pricing of goods and the long outstanding issue of the Bilateral Investment Agreement between Namibia and Angola are some of the challenges facing businesses in the country.
Talks were scheduled to restart this week between deputy trade ministers of South Africa and the United States regarding a free trade agreement (FTA) between the US and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). These have now been cancelled and no new date set.
Singapore and South Africa have agreed to begin free trade talks later this year, as the wealthy city-state seeks to expand its economic access to African states.
Economic diplomacy was "a central pivot" around which the South African Foreign Affairs department was anchoring its efforts to address poverty and underdevelopment in South Africa and the continent, deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said on Friday.
The South African government is to revive talks with the US on trade policies between Washington and the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu).
The United States and the Southern African trade bloc are set to revive free trade talks next month, but analysts say intellectual property rights for urgently needed AIDS drugs remain a stumbling block.
