Author: Ron Sandrey South Africa is currently reviewing and formulating its industrial policy. The objective of this paper is not so much to present an examination of the South African Industrial Policy per se but rather to assess its industrial policy in a wider sense as to how it relates to and integrates and interacts [...]

Introduction Monitoring the process of regional integration in southern Africa in 2011 Trudi Hartzenberg, Gerhard Erasmus, André du Pisani   A number of important trade-related developments took place in southern Africa in 2011.  Developments on the rest of the African continent as well as in the global economy had important implications for the southern African [...]

Introduction and background: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat conducted a desk review of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) in 2011; this report was released in November 2011. This paper provides a brief review of the findings of this review and places this assessment in a broader regional perspective. The RISDP was [...]

Authors:  Ron Sandrey and Hans G. Jensen Introduction: The overall generalisation is made from the study that South Africa does not ‘measure up’ in terms of economic size, but fits the middle patterns of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in recent years where the perceived concept of the BRICs dynamic GDP growth is biased due [...]

Author: Paul Kruger Introduction: The main focus of this paper is the effect that international obligations and commitments can have on the local establishment of foreign companies. The relevance of international commitments made by South Africa at the multilateral level became prevalent during the recent merger between Walmart and Massmart. What is the role, in [...]

Author: Prof. Colin McCarthy Introduction In June 2004 the writer presented a paper at a conference On the euro outside the euro-zone: the South African perspective.  The paper addressed the lessons that southern Africa could learn from European Union (EU) monetary integration and specifically whether the region can take their cue from the euro. The [...]

Author:  Taku Fundira Introduction: Since the beginning of the new millennium we are increasingly noticing the influence on the structure of the world economy not only of some major emerging markets, namely Brazil, India and China, from a developing country perspective, but also of the rise of Russia (since the collapse of the Soviet Union). [...]

Introduction: For about the last year and a half a vital aspect of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) legal regime, the ability to enforce the rights and obligations in the legal instruments of this regional arrangement, has been suspended. The terms of the Judges (Members) of the Tribunal have also not been renewed. There [...]

Empowerment policies may give rise to discrimination when local suppliers are treated more favourably, or perhaps even limit the market access opportunities for foreign suppliers, when, for example, the equity share of the foreign partner is limited. However, the flexible rules incorporated in services agreements provide countries with the ability to schedule the empowerment policies [...]

The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) is a non-reciprocal trade programme that has been adopted by a number of developed countries to provide trade preferences to developing and least-developed countries. The GSP had its formal origins in 1971 when exemptions to the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle were introduced under the General Agreement on Tariffs [...]

The COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite was created in 2006 to assist in the process of harmonising programmes and policies within and between the three Regional Economic Communities of COMESA, EAC and SADC and to advance the establishment of the African Economic Community.  The three main pillars of the Tripartite strategy, as contained in the Vision and Strategy [...]

Introduction The Heads of State and Government of the 26 member states of the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) agreed in October 2008 to establish a grand Free Trade Area (FTA) which is now referred to as the Tripartite FTA [...]

Africa’s Global Competitiveness: Summary from the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011 Download: Africa’s Global Competitiveness: Summary document.pdf Also read Taku Fundira’s Hot Seat Comment: The need for diversifying exports within the COMESA-EAC-SADC tripartite FTA

Tralac has worked with Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) on Trade in Services matters in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). Although the 2002 SACU Agreement does not cover services, SACU member states are engaging trade in services issues in the context of regional trade agreement negotiations and this Policy Brief considers how SACU [...]

The Monitoring Regional Integration Yearbook 2010 marks the tenth edition of this publication.  This monitoring exercise, ten years on, is no less relevant than it was at the project’s inception.  Although there have been significant regional developments during the past decade, many challenges still remain.  During the past decade developments in the Southern African Development [...]

Introduction Transparency of laws and regulations can play an important part in the investment decisions of foreign investors. For traders and investors it can increase predictability, legal certainty, efficiency and access to information while reducing the complexity and cost of the trade transaction. Improved transparency can also lead to enhanced legitimacy and accountability of the [...]

Introduction It is envisaged that the proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA) will not only cover trade in goods, but also trade in services. One of the general objectives stated in Article 3 of the draft Tripartite Agreement is the creation of a large single market which would include the free movement of services. It [...]

In recent years countries have increasingly become focussed on enhancing market access through regional integration in light of the stalled decade-long WTO Doha round of trade of negotiations.  Africa is no exception and in 2008, Heads of State and Government from the member states of the regional economic communities (RECs) of the Common Market for [...]