ISDS Case Map
South Africa
Pressure was mounting on Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders to get economic integration back on track in a bid to meet the 2008 target date for a free trade area in the region, said Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad yesterday.
During the triangular IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) political summit on September 13 in Brazil, Mercosur is likely to propose South African Customs Union (SACU) and India the creation of a working group to explore the modalities of a trilateral free trade agreement (T-FTA) among them.
The first step has been taken to establish a Free Trade Agreement between Singapore and South Africa.
Washington recently played host to the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) forum, an annual event mandated by the Agoa legislation which brings together stakeholders from Africa and the US.
The stalled Doha negotiations would give SA a valuable opportunity to strengthen technical consultation and tighten relations in the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) before the trade talks were resumed, SA's chief trade negotiator, Xavier Carim, said yesterday.
The first step has been taken to establish a Free Trade Agreement between Singapore and South Africa. Justice MPH Rubin, Singapore's High Commissioner, is in Tshwane to facilitate the process.
Zimbabwe is not going to change its stance on Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (Bippas) that were violated under the country's controversial land reform programme, a position that could further strain diplomatic relations with affected nations.
A free trade agreement with China would have a drastically negative effect on the clothing and footwear sectors in South Africa - but the overall economic effect would be positive, says one of the first of a series of studies.
This week's visit by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to seven African countries, including SA, is a highly strategic one.
When Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attends the IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) summit in Brazil on September 13, one of the main issues on the agenda is the possibility of a trilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the regional groupings in Latin America and South Africa.
