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By ANA Reporter 
2h ago
PRETORIA – Friday marked the start of trade for South African companies under two new trade agreements, the department of commerce and industry and competition (dtic) said.
These agreements are with countries willing to trade under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA); and with the United Kingdom after Brexit, the dtic said in a statement.
South Africa had launched the legal and administrative processes for the commencement of trade under the AfCFTA on January 1, 2021 following a decision of the 13th extraordinary session of the assembly on the AfCFTA on December 5, 2020 to begin negotiating under the AfCFTA on the basis of reciprocal and legally enforceable tariff schedules and concessions with agreed rules of origin, the department said.
The AfCFTA agreement had been signed by 54 of the 55 member states of the African Union (AU) and 34 countries had already deposited their instruments of ratification with the AU Commission and had become state parties.
The current party states were Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali. , Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Several of the signatory countries had begun to put in place internal administrative arrangements to allow trade under the new conditions. These would be progressively expanded in the coming months, the department said.
In addition, local business trading with the UK started on Friday under the new economic partnership agreement between six southern African countries and the UK, which replaces the European Union (EU) terms of association for the US market. United Kingdom that were valid until December 31, 2020..
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel called on South African farmers and manufacturers to prepare for new opportunities in export markets.
“Trade with the rest of the continent is a fundamental source of growth in production and employment. African countries recognize that industrialization is essential for the development of the continent, “he said in the statement.
The new agreement that entered into force on Friday would take some time to become fully operational, but it had the potential to be transformative for Africa, breaking the “reliance on a neocolonial pattern of trade that characterized trade.”
“Our continent exports raw materials and imports finished products, with substantial added value in the process,” he said.
“Covid-19 simply reminded us of the enormous price we pay for not developing advanced economies. This is Africa’s time to build resilient and innovative economies on the basis of the large markets established by the free trade agreement. It will take dedication and disciplined implementation over the next several years to fully reap the benefits, ”said Patel.
The decision of the AU summit to initiate trade under the AfCFTA was historic and a milestone in the continent’s longstanding efforts to integrate and industrialize.
“AfCFTA offers South African producers and manufacturers the opportunity to expand into new markets in West, Central and North Africa, and offers alternative markets for the export of value-added goods, as well as services. Furthermore, exports to the UK can continue smoothly with the new UK agreement in place, ”said Patel.
The UK agreement effectively retained the terms of trade of the existing EU agreement and would govern the bilateral trade relationship between each of the southern African countries (South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique) and the United Kingdom. . Both the EU and the UK were important trading partners for South Africa, the dtic said.
– African News Agency (ANA)
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