Maryla Maliszewska – Lead Author, is a Senior Economist at the World Bank`s Trade and Regional Integration Unit (ETIRI). His area of expertise covers various aspects of trade policy and regional integration, with a particular focus on the impact of trade on poverty and income distribution. Guillermo Arenas is an economist in the World Bank`s Trade and Regional Integration Unit (ETIRI). His area of expertise covers various aspects of international economics and law and order, including trade policy, export competitiveness and impact assessment. The EPO contributes to improving the business climate between partners by providing a stable and forward-looking framework for businesses in South Africa and across Southern Africa. It helps boost bilateral and regional trade, creating new opportunities to achieve the objectives of the strategic partnership between South Africa and the EU. The bilateral agreement on trade development and cooperation establishes a free trade area between the EC and South Africa. The scope of the AfCFTA is vast. The agreement will reduce tariffs between member countries and cover policy areas such as trade facilitation and services, as well as regulatory measures such as hygiene standards and technical barriers to trade. Full implementation of the AfCFTA would reshape the region`s markets and economies and boost production in services, manufacturing and natural resources.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the provisions on investor-state arbitration (including a special tribunal provided for in certain free trade agreements) fall within the common competence of the European Union and its Member States and that, for this reason, their ratification should be approved both by the EU and by each of the 28 states. [82] Globally, there is duty-free trade between South Africa and the other four countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and eSwatini) that make up the South African Customs Union (SACU). The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Free Trade Agreement has enabled duty-free trade between 12 of the 15 members since 2012. The EU-South Africa Agreement on Trade and Development Cooperation, which entered into force in 2000, has become the cornerstone of the regional trade landscape as a progressive free trade agreement. South Africa has also negotiated agreements with the European Free Trade Association, the United Kingdom and Mercosur. Through SADC, South Africa concluded negotiations on Phase I of the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement, which links SADC, the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) into a free trade area. South Africa is also a member of the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The DTI uses strong relationships and mechanisms between governments to advance a development agenda in Africa that focuses on identifying and implementing joint investment projects in partner countries. the promotion of mutual trade; coordinating South Africa`s technical cooperation and assistance in support of political and institutional development in partner countries; promote cross-border infrastructure development, in particular on the basis of the SDI methodology; promote regional integration by strengthening and strengthening the Southern African Customs Union (SAAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Free Trade Agreement; and the negotiation of investment protection and economic cooperation agreements.

The European Union has concluded free trade agreements (FTAs)[1] and other agreements with a trade component with many countries of the world, and is negotiating with many others. [2] The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement will create the largest free trade area in the world in terms of the number of participating countries. The pact connects 1.3 billion people in 55 countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) worth $3.4 trillion. It has the potential to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty, but achieving its full potential will depend on the implementation of important policy reforms and trade facilitation measures. South Africa has signed numerous agreements with its trading partners in recent years. The country also benefits from a number of non-reciprocal trade agreements, including the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Generalized System of Preferences. Since the EU and South Africa concluded a Trade Cooperation and Development Agreement (TDCA) in 1999, the two sides have enjoyed a strong and growing trade relationship. In June 2016, the EU and South Africa – along with Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Swaziland – signed the Southern African Economic Partnership Agreement (SADC EPA), which regulates trade in goods between the two regions, replacing the TDCA`s trade-related provisions. Paul Brenton is a Senior Economist in the Trade and Regional Integration Unit (ETIRI) of the World Bank. It focuses on analytical and operational work on trade and regional integration.

The South African government is seeking to further open its market for government reasons in order to increase trade and develop more competitive domestic industries. However, in 2006, the South African government made exceptions to this approach to protect the labor-intensive apparel industry. In 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the South African authorities adopted an emergency measure to restrict the entire movement of goods and people. these have now been partially repealed. Maria Filipa Seara e Pereira advises in the World Bank`s Regional Trade Integration Unit (ETIRI). She works mainly on international trade and development topics, particularly in the areas of modelling, trade policy, distributive effects of trade and global value chains. One study found that trade agreements implemented by the EU during the period 1993-2013 “reduced quality-adjusted prices by almost 7%”. [83] Since the end of South African apartheid, relations between the EU and South Africa have flourished and a “strategic partnership” began in 2007. In 1999, the two sides signed a Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA), which entered into force in 2004 and whose provisions were applied from 2000. The TDCA covered a wide range of issues related to political cooperation, development and the establishment of a free trade area (FTA). [1] The liberalisation plans were completed in 2012. [4] Since the signing of the agreement, merchandise trade between the two partners has increased by more than 120% and foreign direct investment has increased fivefold. [4] Under the so-called “SADC EPA”, the EU has eliminated all or part of the customs duties on 98.7% of imports from South Africa, while guaranteeing unrestricted free access to the other signatory countries. Today, the EU remains South Africa`s largest trade and investment partner. Israel Osorio Rodarte is an economist in the World Bank`s Department of Trade and Regional Integration. He has over 10 years of experience in international development, particularly in the areas of economic diversification, structural change and distribution analysis of trade and macroeconomic policies. Yulia Vnukova advises in the Trade and Regional Integration Unit (ETIRI) of the World Bank. Based on more than a decade of experience, Yulia`s current work focuses on trade policy and regional integration, with a focus on macroeconomic and microeconomic analysis of trade, trade and sectoral competitiveness, global value chains and private sector development in emerging markets in Europe, Asia and Africa. The European Union negotiates free trade agreements on behalf of all its member states, as member states have given the EU “exclusive competence” to conclude trade agreements. .