EU-Southern African Development Community trade relations. Information, statistics, and recent events
- On June 10, 2016, the EU and the SADC EPA Group, which consists of Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). In the future, Angola has the option to join the pact.
- When Mozambique began implementing the EPA in February 2018, it became the first regional EPA in Africa to be completely operational.
- Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, and Mozambique are members of the Southern African Development Community.
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are the other six members of the Southern African Development Community region, and they are currently negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU as part of other regional groups, such as Central Africa or Eastern and Southern Africa.
Trade Picture
- With South Africa making up the majority of EU imports into and exports from the region, the EU is the primary trading partner of the Southern African Development Community EPA Group.
Diamond exports from the Southern African Development Community EPA countries are significant, making up a significant portion of exports to the EU from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, and Namibia. - Agriculture-related goods (such as meat from Botswana, fish from Namibia, or sugar from Eswatini), oil from Angola, and aluminum from Mozambique are some more products from the region. South Africa exports a wide variety of items to the EU, ranging from manufactured goods to wine and from fruit to platinum.
- The Southern African Development Community EPA countries are recipients of a variety of exports from the EU, including automobiles, machinery, electrical items, pharmaceuticals, and processed foods.
- The WTO is a member of the nations that make up the Southern African Development Community EPA Group.
- Lesotho and Mozambique are among the least developed nations (LDNs) in the SADC EPA group, but Namibia and Botswana are upper middle income nations. Namibia, Lesotho, and Botswana The Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) was established by Eswatini and South Africa.
- goods trade, billions of euros
- a bar graph with three data sets.
- data table view, goods trade, billions of euros
- Years are displayed on the chart’s single X-axis. Three categories of data.
- One Y axis on the graph shows the number of billions. Data are between -16.1 and 48.7.
The Southern African Development Community and the EU
Development-oriented
The partners in the SADC EPA group are granted asymmetric access by the EPA. When imports from the EU are increasing too quickly, protections can be implemented to prevent the full liberalization of sensitive products. Trade-related areas that can gain finance are identified in a thorough development chapter. A chapter on sustainable development, which addresses social and environmental issues, is also included in the accord.
More chances for goods trade
- The EPA assures Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Eswatini duty- and quota-free access to the EU market.
- Compared to the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and South Africa (TDCA), which previously governed trade relations with the EU until October 2016 (when the EPA entered into provisional application and, as a result, repealed the trade component of the TDCA), South Africa benefits from new market access.
- Better trading conditions, including those for wine, sugar, fishery products, flowers, and canned fruits, are part of the expanded access, which is focused mostly on agriculture and fisheries.
- With the help of a bilateral agreement with Mozambique, one of the region’s LDCs, the EU will gain significant new market access into the Southern African Customs Union (products include wheat, barley, cheese, meat products, and butter).
Geographical indications
The EPA contains a bilateral protocol between the EU and South Africa on the trade in wines and spirits as well as the preservation of geographical indications. The renowned South African tea Rooibos and various wine labels like Paarl and Stellenbosch will both be protected by the EU. In exchange, South Africa will defend around 250 EU brands that fall within the food, wine, and spirit categories.
the Southern African Development Community as a trading partner
- Bringing goods from the Southern African Development Community into the EU
- Exporting to the Southern African Development Community from the EU
- The EU’s overall political and economic relations with Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, and South Africa include trade relations.
- Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Southern African Development Community (SADC): Creating Opportunities for EU and African Businesses