The SADC EPA group (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) and the EU have reached the final stages towards the implementation of the SADC–EU Economic Partnership Agreement.
“These include fulfillment of ratification processes by the SADC EPA countries while the European Union (EU) required approval for provisional application of the Agreement,” the Department of Trade and Industries said in a Thursday press release.
All the SACU member states have deposited their instruments of ratification of the Agreement and the EU has notified provisional application of the Agreement.
Therefore, the Agreement will provisionally enter into force between SACU member states and the EU on October 10 for all provisions of the Agreement, except for the new agriculture market access that requires an exchange of letters between the EU and South Africa (SA) to confirm the protection of each other’s Geographical Indications names (GIs).
It is expected that the new agricultural market access will enter into force November 1.
The Agreement will provisionally enter into force between the EU and Mozambique once the latter has finalised their ratification process.
For SA and the EU, the EPA will replace the trade chapter in the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA).
Under the EPA, South Africa gains improved access into the EU for wine, sugar, ethanol, flowers, some dairy products, fresh fruit, canned fruit, fruit juice and yeast.
With respect to sugar, South Africa has duty free access for a 150,000 tons, the existing wine quota will increase from 50 million litres to 110 million litres with flexibility on size of the containers (i.e. bottled and bulk) and the duty free access for ethanol is 80,000 tons.
The EPAs also provides significant benefits to South Africa and the EU on the protection of GI names.
The EU will protect 105 South African GIs which consist of a 102 wine names and three agricultural product names (Rooibos, Honeybush and Karoo Lamb) while SA will protect 253 EU GIs which consist of a 120 wine names, 7 beers, 22 spirits, and 104 agricultural product names (special meats, cheeses, olives etc).
The fisheries sector will be liberalised for the first time under EPA as it was not the case under TDCA. The liberalisation schedule will be phased in stages over a period not exceeding nine years.
Preparations for the smooth implementation of the Agreement are underway. The Agreement will be administered by SARS once the legislation has been approved and published in the Government Gazette and will be applied on a retrospective basis.
Traders making use of the tariff preferences under the TDCA and with goods already shipped are advised to pre-clear these goods before October 10 to avoid unintended consequences in the change of the trading regime between SA and the EU from the TDCA to the EPA.
