The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement provides for interim as well as final Trade Remedies (TR) provisions. This was necessary because the Annex and the Guidelines on TRs (as well as the Annex on rules of origin and the tariff schedules) could not be agreed in time for the launching and signing ceremony in June 2015. The outstanding TFTA instruments were negotiated and concluded as part of the “built-in agenda”.

The final legal arrangement for Trade Remedies has now been concluded but will only apply once the TFTA Agreement enters into force. This trade brief takes a look at what is provided for in the TR Annex, how the arrangement will function, and to what degree “flexibilities” have been incorporated.

The negotiations for the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) are also under way. The development of its own TR regime (which will be a continent-wide arrangement) poses a major challenge to the participating Governments. Will they be constrained by what the TFTA has just produced, or would they find space for some “flexibilities” for those MS that regard them as necessary. What lessons can be learned from TFTA experience?

Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the author and do not purport to reflect the views of tralac.