No trade agreement between Sacu and US

THE US government and the five member states of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) will not conclude a preferential trade agreement but will opt for an investment and trade co-operation agreement instead, a trade official said yesterday.

‘It was found that there were different approaches to new issues such as government procurement and trade in services between Sacu and the US government,’ said Tswelopele Moremi, Sacu Executive Secretary. Moremi gave an overview of Sacu at the 17th meeting of the Agricultural Trade Forum (ATF) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).The new US government under President Barack Obama said earlier this month it would not revive talks on the free trade agreement with Sacu member states – Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland – which began in 2003. Talks were suspended in 2006 amid disagreement over the scope of the agreement and alleged US reluctance to make concessions. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk revealed the stalemate on the FTA with Sacu at the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the new South African president Jacob Zuma in Pretoria. ‘After four or five rounds of negotiations it became increasingly apparent that we were approaching this through very different lenses,’ Kirk told reporters. According to Moremi yesterday, Sacu has no common policy yet on the new issues and thus could make offers to the US government. ‘It was a collective decision taken by the US government and Sacu member states not to pursue the FTA negotiations any more. Instead, both parties will negotiate a trade and investment co-operation agreement,’ the Sacu executive stated. Namibia and other Sacu countries benefit under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), an initiative of the Bill Clinton administration. Through Agoa, clothing and selected textile products from southern Africa enter the US market duty free. Namibia intends to export beef and table grapes to the US.