Regional FTA to be born soon
New Era, Windhoek
Regional FTA to Be Born Soon
4 August 2008
By Desie Heita, Windhoek
The signing of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Free Trade Area is set for August 17, and member states want to walk into the signing occasion with all the fanfare and ceremony.
After the signing, member states want to have all the 170 million citizens buying into the idea of free trade area not only to understand but to reap the benefits that come with the opening up of a US$360-billion worth market.
The signing would be done during the SADC Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The signing of the Free Trade Area (FTA) pact would mean that producers and consumers no longer pay import tariffs on about 85 percent of all trade in community goods within the initial 12 countries. The other two SADC members, Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo would join the SADC FTA at a later stage. The duo would bring in 17 million people to the FTA and add a market worth about US$71 billion to the pot.
It has been the dream of SADC member states to have the region integrated complete with free trade areas, a single customs union expected by 2010, a common market by 2015, a monetary Union by 2016 and a single currency by 2018.
Implementation of Free Trade Area started eight years ago following the signing of the SADC Trade Protocol in 1996, with South Africa, Botswana and Namibia at the forefront. The three countries removed most tariffs in 2000.
Middle-income countries such as Mauritius have gradually reduced their tariffs each year between 2000 and 2008. The least developed countries only started with tariff reductions last year.
As part of its quest to achieve regional integration, SADC has already started with standardised documents for customs clearance and single bond on various routes as well as streamlining transit time through various border posts.
