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tralac maintains a collection of regional and national trade-related resources including copies of the texts and annexes of regional and bilateral trade agreements; copies of various regional protocols, memoranda of understanding and tariff offers; and copies of national legislation and policy documents.

Resources can be found in the following regional repositories:
 

• COMESA – Common Market for East and Southern Africa
• EAC – East African Community
• SADC – Southern African Development Community
• COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite FTA
• SACU – Southern African Customs Union
• BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
• Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA)

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Please let us know.


Regular Updates from tralac

tralac is sharing regular updates, news and new publications on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Please join us! Videos can be viewed on the Trade Law Centre YouTube Channel.
 

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Information on tariff applications, Government Gazette Notices and ITAC Reports

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Forthcoming events

Geek Weeks

While tralac will identify topics for study during the Geek Weeks, we also invite participants to identify topics that may be of interest to their organization (e.g. government department or regional secretariat).


Roundtable: A Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) to support Africa’s industrial development objectives?

Industrial development has again become an important feature of Africa’s regional integration agenda and discourse; this is true at regional economic community (REC) level as well as the pan-African level. African leaders adopted an Action Plan for Accelerated Industrial Development for Africa (AIDA), in 2008. Specifically, AIDA is expected to contribute to developing and diversifying Africa’s industrial capacity, supporting connected value addition on the continent and enhancing competitiveness of enterprises. The importance of inclusive capital and financial market development, and investment in this process, is recognized too, especially to improve access to finance for small-scale and rural enterprises.

In January 2012, African Union member states adopted a decision to Boost Intra-African Trade (BIAT) and to expeditiously establish a Continental Free Trade Area CFTA). Here, the aim of the CFTA in ‘enhancing competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level through exploiting opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better allocation of resources,’ reminds us that perhaps one of the most important challenges that we face in Africa is to produce tradables competitively. The CFTA agenda covers trade in goods and services, scheduled for the first phase of the negotiations, and then investment, competition and intellectual property to be negotiated in a second phase. The connections among these substantive negotiating issues are particularly important when viewed from an industrial development and competitiveness perspective.

The increasing role of new technologies in, and the servicification of production across all sectors of the economy, as well as the demand for specialized, technical as well as soft skills in complex 21^st century production environments, require careful consideration of interventions that are expected to guide resource allocation choices, investment location decisions, decisions about production methods, production organization and trade. The CFTA will bring a new set of incentives that, alongside national industrial policy interventions, will impact decisions to invest, produce, trade, work and consume. The outcomes of these decisions will aggregate to deliver new enterprise development, agricultural and industrial organization, and will ultimately shape Africa’s economic and development landscape.

tralac will host a roundtable to consider the continent’s most ambitious integration initiative, the CFTA, from the perspective of Africa’s quest for industrial development and diversification. We will discuss the scope of the CFTA agenda, priorities for industrialization and development, sequencing of the negotiations and accommodating the challenges of integrating unequal partners in the CFTA, and how these will impact industrial development options and choices.

Save the date

The 2017 tralac Annual Conference will take place on 6-7 April 2017 at the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa.


Events news

African Union Commission Services Sector Development Workshop – Addis Ababa, 1 October 2016

On 1 October 2016, tralac Research Advisor, Ashly Hope presented to the African Union Commission’s Workshop on the AU Services Sector Development Programme 2016-2020.

The presentation, on financial sector regulation and financial sector development in the context of continental free trade area negotiations, posed three key questions:

1. What are the objectives of sector development?

2. What kind of financial problems are we trying to solve?

3. How can we solve these problems to meet the objectives?

In answering these questions, the presentation urged AU member country delegates to focus on the overarching objectives of promoting and enabling sustainable economic growth when creating sector development plans.

The presentation also suggested that starting by identifying the sectoral ‘problems’ that sector development and regulation are trying to solve is a useful way to ensure that the solutions are directed towards overall objectives.

As part of the response to the third question – how do we solve these problems – the presentation focussed on the relationship between sector development and the negotiations for a continental free trade area, suggesting that sector development was both at the core of a CFTA, and that the CFTA offered an opportunity to reinforce sector development goals.

The session also included discussions on regulatory restrictions as barriers to services trade and the importance of including regulatory disciplines to realise the benefits of services trade.

Ashly and tralac’s Tarik Oguz also observed the remainder of the workshop, which had two main components. The first was sharing success stories on services sector development, including in from COMESA, as well as individual country sectors, such as Nigeria’s film industry, Egypt’s tourism industry and Burkina Faso’s cultural services strategy.

The second component was an outline of the AU Department of Trade and Industry’s proposed Services Sector development strategy – a strategy that, if adopted, will include six pillars, covering:

• sector specific strategies;

• regulatory audits strengthening regulations and institutions;

• capacity building in services;

• private sector involvement in policy making;

• a communications strategy; and

• improved coordination with the regional economic communities.

Training Programme – Regional Integration Directorate (Lesotho Ministry of Finance), 3-7 October 2016

tralac presented a training course for the Regional Integration Directorate of the Ministry of Finance in Lesotho in Cape Town, South Africa on 3-7 October 2016.

The Regional Integration Directorate was established as Lesotho’s SADC National Committee (SNC). Since then its scope of work has expanded to Lesotho’s broader regional integration agenda, including for example the SACU agenda.

This training programme covered a selection of regional integration developments, including:

• SACU developments (including the recent Ministerial Retreat and possible future developments)

• SADC’s integration agenda (consolidation of the free trade area, industrial strategy, revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan, Regional Infrastructure Master Plan)

• Update on the Tripartite Free Trade Area and the Continental Free Trade Area negotiations

The course was presented by Trudi Hartzenberg and Professor Gerhard Erasmus.

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Trade Brief:  Regional Competition Law – A COMESA perspective

By Gerhard Erasmus, tralac Associate: The promotion of competition and fair business practices is an essential aspect of market regulation and regional integration. This Trade Brief provides an overview of the COMESA competition regime. The COMESA Competition Regulations have the mandate to regulate cross-border conduct by undertakings in the Common Market. The concept of effect on trade is the chief criterion which establishes the jurisdiction of the Regulations. The Brief also mentions some of the challenges flowing from flaws in the design of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs). Read more and download the trade brief on tralac’s website...

Trade Brief:  The Court of Justice as the Court of Appeal for COMESA Competition Law

By Gerhard Erasmus, tralac Associate: The COMESA Court of Justice has not yet ruled on any competition related disputes or appeals. A COMESA legal regime for competition regulation in the Common Market does, however, exist. It consists of the Competition Regulations and the COMESA Competition Rules. The question addressed in this Trade Brief is what role the COMESA Court of Justice plays in adjudicating disputes or appeals about competition issues in the Common Market. Read more and download the trade brief on tralac’s website...

Working Paper:  The Commodity Down Cycle: Some Policy Options for Africa

By John Stuart, tralac Associate: This working paper is an extension of a prior tralac working paper, The Commodity Price Downturn and Trade: Finding Solutions for Africa, which examines the extent of the fallout of the commodity price ‘down cycle’ for the countries of Africa, grouped by export specialisation. In this paper, a selection of five distinct policy instruments are simulated for the same four groups of countries, in order to assess the potential for alleviating some of the economic stress brought about by the price shocks. Read more and download the working paper on tralac’s website...

Working Paper:  WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement: Developments since Bali

By Petros Shayanowako: This paper explores developments following the endorsement of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) by WTO members in December 2013. In particular the paper will take stock of the members that have ratified the TFA to date, including a review of the trade facilitation measures that the countries have notified to the WTO under the different categories. More focus will be on the African countries, members of the WTO that have made notifications. The paper will attempt to discern any trends in the notifications by these African countries as that would assist members of both the TFTA and the CFTA in developing regional approaches to trade facilitation under the envisaged new Free Trade Areas. Read more and download the working paper on tralac’s website...

Working Paper:  When History and Governance Confusion undermine Trade Certainty: The 1964 Trade Agreement between South Africa and Zimbabwe

By Gerhard Erasmus, tralac Associate: Legal certainty is essential for the functioning of FTAs. The present “Beitbridge dispute” between South Africa and Zimbabwe involves unilateral tariff increases, surcharges and import bans which are incompatible with the applicable SADC FTA procedures, of which both parties are member states. What contributes to the legal difficulties is the fact that trade between the two countries seems to be governed by different sets of rules. The result is uncertainty and governance confusion. Read more and download the working paper on tralac’s website...

Trade Brief:  South Africa and Zimbabwe trade – how does it work?

By Elisha Tshuma, Independent Expert: South Africa and Zimbabwe are both members of SADC and of the SADC Free Trade Area. They also have a bilateral trade agreement dating from 1964.  The average trade deficit for the period between 2009 and 2011 was US$2.58 billion. To control the growth of the trade deficit Zimbabwe has employed a number of interventions which include a number of measures to discourage imports. While the official statistics reflect a decline in imports and narrowing of the trade deficit, investigations by the local press have revealed that the measures have caused an increase in smuggling as people resort to informal crossing points to import their goods. Read more and download the trade brief on tralac’s website...

Working Paper:  Intellectual Property Rights Promotion and Protection Under the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA): Proposals for an Intellectual Property Protocol

By Henry Kibet Mutai, tralac Associate: The aim of this paper is to examine some of the issues related to the intellectual property track of the phase II negotiations for the establishment of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) in order to propose a few options that the member states may wish to consider as they endeavour to arrive at an outcome that will be supportive of their development objectives. The goal is therefore to explore the options available for states negotiating the TFTA so far as the development of provisions on intellectual property is concerned. Read more and download the working paper on tralac’s website...

Trade Brief:  Moving money across borders in the SADC region

By Ashly Hope, tralac Research Advisor: The World Bank reports that seven of the top twenty most expensive remittance corridors are between countries in the SADC region, and a further two between countries in the region and elsewhere in sub‑Saharan Africa. Many factors affect cost of remittances – weak infrastructures, a lack of transparency and competition, and financial regulation constraints. This briefing will explore two alternative (to traditional bank transfers and money transfer operators (‘MTOs’) such as Moneygram and Western Union) channels of remittances that rely on existing networks for funds transmittal – mobile money, which uses the mobile phone network, and retailer remittances, which use the networks of retail stores. Read more and download the trade brief on tralac’s website...

Trade Brief:  One Year after its Launch: Has the Tripartite Free Trade Area been overtaken by Events?

By Gerhard Erasmus, tralac Associate: The Tripartite FTA (TFTA) is often referred to in publications and in statements as if already a reality, or at least imminent. The true position is that this agreement is not in force; and not even concluded in terms of all critical elements to be agreed upon. In the meantime very important new trade-related developments are taking place elsewhere on the continent and there is a possibility that the FTA could be overtaken by events. Read more and download the trade brief on tralac’s website...

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tralac’s Daily News Selection – an online African trade and regional integration news and publications digest – is compiled with the assistance of Mr. Richard Humphries (@richardhumphri1 on twitter) and disseminated to enhance trade policy knowledge and debate.

Click here to view the Daily News archive. To receive the tralac Daily News Selection e-notification, please subscribe using the following link: http://eepurl.com/bhaAmf

News

SADC, EAC and COMESA seek to implement Tripartite Free Trade Area

The 10th EAC-COMESA-SADC Tripartite Committee of Senior Officials for Trade, Customs, Finance, Economic matters and Internal Affairs meeting opened in Nairobi, Kenya on Tuesday to resolve issues that remain outstanding before the implementation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area.

» Visit tralac’s TFTA Resources page for further info.

African economies adopt record number of reforms, says Doing Business 2017 report

Sub-Saharan Africa economies carried out a record number of reforms in the past year to improve the business climate for local entrepreneurs, says the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All. The region’s economies reformed most in the areas of Resolving Insolvency (with 18 reforms) and Starting a Business (15). Seven economies implemented reforms related to Trading Across Borders.

U.S. Chamber releases new report on trade facilitation in East Africa, outlines transformational projects and opportunities for U.S. investment

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce U.S.-Africa Business Center released a new on 18 October 2016 on trade facilitation in East Africa, outlining the work governments in the region have undertaken to improve infrastructure and address economic challenges, and offering recommendations to address and overcome remaining trade barriers.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Policy adjustment way out of growth slump

Growth in sub-Saharan Africa is set to slow to its lowest level in more than two decades, the IMF said in its latest Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa. “Given the scale and persistent nature of the shock, and as existing buffers have been exhausted, a comprehensive three-pronged adjustment effort is needed urgently: Strong fiscal adjustment, enhanced social protection policies, and structural reforms to facilitate competitiveness and diversification,” head of the IMF’s African department, Abebe Aemro Selassie, said.

Trade Policy Review: Democratic Republic of the Congo

The second review of the trade policies and practices of the Democratic Republic of the Congo takes place on 25 and 27 October 2016. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat (pdf) and a report by the Government of the DRC (pdf).

Experts warn Kenya against costly transport of crude oil by trucks

The Kenyan government has been urged to consider a pipeline for oil exports to reap maximum benefit from the proposed early production. According to oil and gas experts, the basic principle that defines the economic viability of crude oil production lies in cost effective and reliable means of transport.

Rwandan govt moves to regulate warehouse business for commodities exchange

The Government has tabled a Bill before Parliament that seeks to regulate the business of providing warehouse services and value certificates for stored agricultural produce in a move that is poised to boost commodities exchange in the country.

EAC/JICA Automotive industry expert meeting kicks off in Nairobi

A broad spectrum of stakeholders and experts from the Automotive Industry, Finance, Customs and Trade sectors as well as vehicle manufacturing company representatives from the EAC Partner States met in Nairobi to review and validate the progress report of the Comprehensive Study on Automotive Industry and inform the EAC and potential private sector investors on policy options and modalities to promote and develop the motor vehicle industry in the region.

Weak data buries the shine of Kenya’s huge mineral resource

Kenya has vast mineral deposits that remain largely unexploited as data gaps keep the country’s undiscovered underground wealth out of the economic system. The Kenya Mining Investment Handbook 2016 shows that Kenya has billions below its surface worth of minerals yet to be mapped and quantified for mining.

We need to up our game to provide support to exporters – Director-General October

The Director-General for the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), Mr Lionel October says government needs to up its game to provide support for exporters to ensure increased growth of South African exports. He was addressing the Team Export South Africa (TESA) workshop held in Midrand.

Report charts path for a “nutrition revolution” in Africa

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) is having a positive impact in countries that have implemented its recommendations, according to the 2015 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR) released on 18 October 2016. The report outlines how agriculture and food systems can improve food security and improve the health and productivity in Africa.

How can trade policy be used to transform African livelihoods?

How can African countries and the international community overcome the existing challenges to building the poverty-reducing trade needed to meet the poverty-related Sustainable Development Goals in Africa? An analysis by Lily Sommer and David Luke.

Intra-BRICS trade: An Indian perspective

BRICS countries have made significant progress in integrating with the global economy. Analysis of trading patterns within BRICS reveals that levels of intra-BRICS trade are quite diverse, mainly reflecting comparative sizes of the economies. Over the past decade, intra-BRICS trade has increased by nearly threefold, supported by increase in intra-regional trade for all the member countries.

Rwanda, DR Congo sign deal to ease cross-border trade

Rwanda and DR Congo have signed a new agreement establishing a framework for bilateral cooperation in the area of cross-border trade and elimination of non-tariff barriers. Officials in charge of trade from both countries signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU), last week, in Rubavu District, during the official launch of the COMESA Simplified Trade Regime (COMESA STR).

How digital finance could boost growth in emerging economies

Delivering financial services by mobile phone could benefit billions of people by spurring inclusive growth that adds $3.7 trillion to the GDP of emerging economies within a decade. A new report from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), Digital finance for all: Powering inclusive growth in emerging economies, is the first attempt to quantify the full impact of digital finance.

Speakers call for fair multilateral trading system to ensure sustained growth, as Second Committee debates macroeconomic policy questions

Exports had remained stagnant or drastically declined due to low world prices, failure to adapt to changing markets and policies penalizing their traditional activity, Maldives’ delegate told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) on 20 October 2016.

World Bank’s Poverty Commission releases report on how to better measure and monitor global poverty

The World Bank’s Commission on Global Poverty has submitted recommendations on how to more comprehensively measure and monitor global poverty in support of the Bank Group’s goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity.

Grain council calls for sensitisation on rules of origin

The Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) Rwanda has called for more sensitisation about rules of origin policies between regional blocs to ensure local traders understand them to benefit from the proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA).

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New report: ‘Beyond AGOA: Looking at the future of US-Africa trade and investment’

At the recently concluded US-Africa AGOA Forum, US Trade Representative Mike Froman addressed possible scenarios on the post-AGOA period (2025-). A central theme of the report – Beyond AGOA: Looking at the future of US-Africa trade and investment – lies the question in what shape and form the US should develop new, tailored trade policy for its future relationship with Africa; collectively, regionally or with individual countries. It is evident that the relatively rigid approach of previous years, where the US model trade agreement encompassed many disciplines and areas outside of goods trade, is being reviewed. It is acknowledged that a future relationship and partnership with African countries should be more nuanced, perhaps less comprehensive than originally envisaged, and more tailored to the situation and individual needs of African countries or regions. It is likewise clear that not all countries are at the same stage of readiness to take a bilateral relationship to a new level. While AGOA has provided a policy architecture and framework, it has not always been successful in achieving the transformative changes in trade and investment that may have been hoped for at the outset.
 
African countries have meanwhile, over the past decade, increasingly embraced models of regional integration, and in many cases have also developed deeper, more reciprocal relationships with other parties, such as the EU. This has not gone unnoticed by the US. It is obvious that the US will increasingly be reviewing its own preference regimes, particularly those of a non-reciprocal nature. It remains to be seen whether post-AGOA arrangements will eventually involve comprehensive trade agreements in the traditional US-style (with those ready and willing), whether they will be of a more asymmetrical nature, or be hybrid arrangements that act as stepping stones for future comprehensive arrangements, or even programs with policy-based eligibility criteria, such as undertakings around trade facilitation, SPS measures, intellectual property, technical trade barriers and so on. The report provides some insights into the current thinking on this subject.  

2016 AGOA Forum
Readouts from the recently concluded 15^th AGOA Forum have been made available at this link. Meanwhile, the US Trade Representative has released a new report, “Beyond AGOA: Looking to the Future of U.S.-Africa Trade and Investment,” which presents the case for deepening the U.S.-Africa economic relationship. The report outlines key trends in the global trading system against which US-sub-Saharan Africa engagement should be viewed, explores the substantive building blocks potentially important to a new U.S.-Africa trade architecture, and assesses some strategic and structural options for moving forward.

USTR Releases 2016 Report on AGOA Implementation to Congress

The U.S. Trade Representative presented to Congress a comprehensive report on implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) – the cornerstone of the U.S. trade and investment relationship with sub-Saharan Africa. The report is statutorily mandated by Congress under the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 to be submitted one year following the enactment of the Act, and biennially thereafter.  
 
The 2016 Biennial Report on the Implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act details the U.S.-sub-Saharan African trade relationship, analyzes country compliance with eligibility criteria, highlights regional integration efforts, and summarizes the trade capacity building assistance that various U.S. government agencies provide to Africa. The report also provides information, requested by Congress, regarding out-of-cycle AGOA eligibility reviews and potential trade agreements with sub-Saharan Africa.
 
Download the report on AGOA.info here.

New trade data to August 2016 published on AGOA.info
AGOA trade data has been updated to August 2016. Aggregate US exports from AGOA beneficiaries to the US were worth $12.8 billion over this period, of which $6.95 billion was shipped under AGOA preference.

From the AGOA Data Center

AGOA Country Profiles

Bilateral trade profiles, disaggregated by sector, are available for each AGOA beneficiary country individually and contain quarterly data. The data also includes a number of regional trade profiles, featuring the AGOA beneficiaries in SACU, SADC, EAC, COMESA and others. The monthly data sections have been updated to May 2016. Data includes exports by country, by product sector, and apparel trade.

AGOA strategies
In line with the AGOA legislation, a number of countries have developed AGOA strategies to help them better utilize the preferences offered by AGOA. See the AGOA.info toolkit for the completed strategy documents. New AGOA strategies for Rwanda, Lesotho, Tanzania and Zambia were recently added.

Exporter Toolkit
The exporter toolkit contains sector-specific resources, and also covers key themes (SPS measures, packaging, trade shows, business planning etc.) that are of relevance to producers and traders planning to export to the US.
 
From the AGOA news archive