South Africa’s latest trade policy formulation retains the clear connection between trade and industrial policy, noting that that trade policy instruments such as the import tariff are used selectively to support industrialisation objectives. South Africa is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at the multilateral level; however, regional integration is an integral part of South Africa’s trade strategy.

This trade update focuses on South Africa’s trading relationship with select regional zones, regional economic communities (RECs) and select countries. More specifically, the brief will focus on South Africa’s trade with Africa, the European Union (EU), the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). The review period is for the full year – 2021.

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