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South Africa began trading under two new deals on Friday when the first goods began to flow under a free trade pact across Africa and the UK left the European Union’s single market.
The agreements are with African countries ready to trade under the free trade agreement and with the United Kingdom under the Southern African Customs Union, Mozambique-UK Economic Partnership Agreement, the Department for Trade, Industry and Competition said in a statement.
The UK completed its divorce from the EU on Friday, leaving the bloc’s single market and customs regime more than four years after voting for Brexit and with the country still in the grip of the pandemic.
The agreements mean that exports can continue smoothly to the UK, one of South Africa’s largest trading partners, and that legal and administrative processes have been put in place for preferential trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), he said. the DTIC.
All but one of the 55 nations recognized by the African Union have signed to join the area and 34 have ratified the agreement. A fully implemented agreement could cover a market of more than 1.2 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of $ 2.5 trillion.
“AfCFTA presents South African producers and manufacturers an opportunity to expand into new markets in West, Central, Eastern and Northern Africa,” said Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel.
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