The SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government takes place this week (17-18 August 2014). This occasion presents an important opportunity for decisive deliberations on an integration agenda that reflects and addresses the challenges of the 21st century.

This tralac Trade Brief outlines some of these challenges and identifies priorities for an integration agenda to deliver the development aspirations of the SADC Treaty. We urge SADC to prioritise the following complementary and mutual reinforcing areas:

(a)  Making rules of origin more flexible and less restrictive

(b)  Advancing a ‘services regulatory reform’ agenda

(c)  Supporting interventions on trade facilitation

(d)  Implementing the infrastructure development master plan

(e)  Embracing a ‘deep integration’ agenda through a comprehensive FTA

(f)  Fostering a ‘rules-based trade governance’ agenda with an effective dispute settlement mechanism

Two tralac submissions were made during the preparatory process leading to the 2014 SADC Summit covering trade issues in the review of the RISDP and the dispute settlement mechanism, including views on the architecture of the revised SADC Tribunal. Click here to download the submissions.

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